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STEREOTYPED  AT  THE  BOSTON  STEREOTYPE  FOUNDRY, 
No.  19  SPKING  LANE. 


PREFACE. 


THE  important  position  which  the  study  of  English  Litera- 
ture is  now  taking  in  Education  has  led  to  the  publication  of 
this  work  and  of  the  accompanying  volume  of  "  Choice  Speci- 
mens of  English  Literature."  Both  books  have  been  underta- 
ken at  the  request  of  many  eminent  teachers,  and  no  pains 
have  been  spared  to  adapt  them  to  the  purpose  for  which  they 
are  designed,  as  elementary  works  to  be  used  in  schools. 
Neither  will  fully  answer  its  object  without  the  other. ;  the  two 
will  be  found  to  be  of  mutual  assistance,  —  the  one  as  giving 
a  rapid  but  trustworthy  sketch  of  the  lives  of  our  chief  writers, 
and  of  the  successive  influences  which  imparted  to  their  writ- 
ings their  peculiar  character ;  the  other  as  supplying  choice 
examples  of  the  works  themselves,,  accompanied  by  all  the 
explanations  required  for  their  perfect  comprehension. 

•  In  both  volumes  a  large  proportion  of  the  space  has  been 
given  to  the  great  Writers,  so  as  to  impress  upon  the  minds 
of  pupils  the  most  important  facts  in  English  Literature. 

The  "  History  "  has  been  drawn  up  by  Mr.  James  Rowley, 
of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  under  the  direction  and  superin- 
tendence of  Dr.  William  Smith,  and  has  been  derived,  though 
with  many  important  additions  and  alterations,  from  Shaw's 
"  Student's  Manual "  upon  the  same  subject. 

All  living  writers  are,  for  obvious  reasons,  excluded. 

W.  S. 


THE  publishers  of  Shaw's  "  MANUAL  OF  ENGLISH  LITER- 
ATURE," being  gratified  at  the  favor  with  which  that  book  has 
been  received,  as  a  revised  and  enlarged  edition  of  Shaw's 
Outlines  of  English  Literature,  present  herewith  a  smaller 
history,  which  is  a  Compend  of  English  Literature,  for  gen- 
eral school  use. 

Selections  from  the  works  of  the  authors  named  in  this  vol- 
ume, which  illustrate  their  styles,  are  also  issued  as  "  CHOICE 
SPECIMENS  OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE  ;  "  and  references, 
throughout  this  volume,  will  be  found,  in  heavy-faced  type,  to 
the  particular  extracts  in  that  volume  which  illustrate  the 
authors  of  this. 

SHELDON  &  COMPANY. 


(4) 


CONTENTS. 


ENGLISH    LITERATURE. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.     INTRODUCTORY. 9 

II.     ENGLISH  LITERATURE  TO  THE  NORMAN  CONQUEST.  15 

III.  FROM  THE  CONQUEST  TO  GEOFFREY  CHAUCER.     .  23 

IV.  GEOFFREY  CHAUCER 31 

V.     THE  CONTEMPORARIES  OF  CHAUCER 47 

VI.     ENGLISH  LITERATURE  FROM  CHAUCER  TO  SPENSER.  55 

VII.     THE  NON-DRAMATIC  ELIZABETHAN  POETS.    ...  66 

VIII.     THE  DAWN  OF  THE  DRAMA 75 

IX.     SHAKSPEARE 90 

X.     THE  SHAKSPEARIAN  DRAMATISTS.    ......  106 

XI.    THE    PROSE    LITERATURE  OF  THE   ELIZABETHAN 

PERIOD 115 

XII.     THE  SO-CALLED  METAPHYSICAL  POETS 125 

XIII;     THEOLOGICAL   WRITERS   OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND 

THE  COMMONWEALTH 132 

XIV.    JOHN  MILTON 137 

XV.     THE  AGE  OF  THE  RESTORATION 148 

XVI.     THE  NEW  DRAMA  AND  THE  CORRECT  POETS.  .     .  164 


6  CONTENTS. 

XVII.     THE  SECOND  REVOLUTION 174 

XVIII.     THE  SO-CALLED  AUGUSTAN  POETS 183 

XIX.    THE  ESSAYISTS 199 

XX.'  THE  GREAT  NOVELISTS 208 

XXI.     HISTORICAL,  MORAL,  POLITICAL,  AND  THEOLOGI- 
CAL WRITERS  OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY.  221 
XXII.     THE  DAWN  OF  ROMANTIC  POETRY 234. 

XXIII.  WALTER  SCOTT.  .'."..' 249 

XXIV.  BYRON,    MOORE,    SHELLEY,  AND  OTHER.  POETS.  258 
XXV.     THE    LAKE     SCHOOL.  —  WORDSWORTH,    COLE- 
RIDGE,  AND   SOUTHEY .  275 

XXVI.     THE  MODERN  NOVELISTS 284 

XXVII.     PROSE  LITERATURE  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CEN- 
TURY   297 


LIST  OF  POETS  LAUREATE 309 


CONTENTS.  7 

AMERICAN    LITERATURE. 
CHAPTER    I. 

Literature  in  the  Colonies  imitative.  Relation  of  American  to  English  Literature. 
Gradual  Advancement  of  the  United  States  in  Letters.  Their  first  Development 
theological.  Writers  in  this  Department.  JONATHAN  EDWARDS.  Religiou. 
Controversy.  WILLIAM  E.  CHANNING.  Writings  of  the  Clergy.  Newspapers 
and  School  Books.  Domestic  Literature.  Female  Writers.  Oratory.  Revolu- 
tionary Eloquence.  American  Orators.  ALEXANDER  HAMILTON.  DANIEL  WEB- 
STER and  others.  EDWARD  EVERETT.  American  History  and  Historians.  JARED 
SPARKS.  DAVID  RAMSAY.  GEORGE  BANCROFT.  HILDRETH.  ELIOT.  LOSSING. 
WILLIAM  H.  PRESCOTT.  IRVING.  WHEATON.  COOPER.  PARKMAN.  .  .311 

CHAPTER    II. 

Belles  Lettres.  Influence  of  British  Essayists.  FRANKLIN.  DENNIE.  Signs  of 
Literary  Improvement.  JONATHAN  OLDSTYLE.  WASHINGTON  IRVING.  His 
Knickerbocker.  Sketch-Book.  His  other  Works.  Popularity.  Tour  on  the 
Prairies.  Character  as  an  Author.  DANA.  WILDE.  HUDSON.  GRISWOLD. 
LOWELL.  WHIPPLE.  TICKNOR.  WALKER.  WAYLAND.  JAMES.  EMERSON. 
Transcendentalists.  MADAME  OSSOLI.  Emerson's  Essays.  ORVILLE  DEWEY. 
Humorous  Writers.  Belles  Lettres.  TUDOR.  WIRT.  SANDS.  FAY.  WALSH. 
MITCHELL.  KIMBALL.  American  Travellers.  Causes  of  their  Success  as  Wri- 
ters. Fiction.  CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN.  His  Novels.  JAMES  FENIMORK 
COOPER.  His  Novels  —  their  Popularity  and  Characteristics.  NATHANIEL  HAW- 
THORNE. His  Works  and  Genius.  Other  American  Writers  of  Fiction.  .  .  321) 

CHAPTER    III. 

POETRY. 

FRENEAU  and  the  early  Metrical  Writers.     MUMFORD,  CLIFFTON,  ALLSTON,  and 

others.      PIERPONT.     DANA.     HILLHOUSE.     SPRAGUE.      PERCIVAL.     HALLECK. 

DRAKE.     HOFFMAN.     WILLIS.     LONGFELLOW.     HOLMES.     LOWELL.      BOKER. 

Favorite   Single  Poems.     Descriptive  Poetry.     STREET,  WHITTIER,  and  others. 

BRAINARD.     Song-Writers.     Other  Poets.     Female  Poets.     BRYANT.  .     .     .  343 
NOTE  TO  SKETCH  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE 361 


INDEX  TO  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.    . 367 

INDEX  TO  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.     .  .     .     371 


NOTE. 


THROUGH  this  book  the  figures  in  plain  type  indicate  dates, 
and  the  figures  in  heavy-faced  type  refer  to  the  number  of 
the  selection  in  the  "  CHOICE  SPECIMENS  OP  ENGLISH  LIT- 
ERATURE," a  volume  of  this  series,  which  illustrates  the 
authors  named  in  this  volume,  and  in  Shaw's  "  COMPLETE 
MANUAL  OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE." 

(8) 


ENGLISH    LITERATURE. 


CHAPTER    I. 

i 

INTRODUCTORY. 

1.  THE  most  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  British 'Islands,  con- 
cerning whom  history  has  handed  down  to  x.'S  aoy^cxrta'n,  infor- 
mation, were  a  branch  of  that  Celtic  race  v,'Kich:r'ppear3  to  hu'v^ 
once  occupied  a  large  portion  of  Western  Europe.     This  race 
never  attained  more  than  a  low  degree  of  civilization  —  a  fact 
sufficiently  indicated  by  its  nomad  and  predatory  mode  of  exist- 
ence, by  the   comparative   absence   of  agriculture,  and,  above 
all,  by  the  universal  practice  of  that  infallible  sign  of  a  savage 
state,  the  habit  of  tattooing  and  staining  the  body. 

2.  Though  the  Phoenicians  perhaps  visited  the  southern  coast 
of  the  island  at  an  early  period,  yet  the  first  important  inter- 
course between  the  primitive  Britons   and  any  foreign  nation 
was  the  invasion  of  the  country  by  the  Romans  under  Julius 
Caesar  in  the  year  55  B.  C.    The  resistance  of  the  Britons,  though 
obstinate  and  ferocious,  was  gradually  overpowered  in  the  first 
century  of  the  Christian  era  by  the  superior  skill  and  military  or- 
ganization of  the  Roman  armies  :   the  country  became  a  Roman 
province ;  and  this  domination,  though  extending  only  to  the  cen- 
tral and  southern  portion  of  the  country,  subsisted  about  four 
hundred  years  ;  during  which  time  the  invaders,  as  was  their  cus- 
tom, endeavored  to  introduce  among  their  barbarous  subjects 
their  laws,  their  habits,  and  their  civilization.     Such  of  the  Celts 
as  submitted  to  the  yoke  of  their  invaders  acquired  a  considerable 
degree  of  civilization,  learned  the  Latin  language,  and  became  a 
Latinized   or  provincial  race,  similar  to  the  inhabitants  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Channel.     The  other  portion  of  the  Celts,  who 


10  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  I. 

inhabited  mountainous  regions  inaccessible  to  the  Roman  arms, 
periodically  descending  from  the  rugged  fastnesses  in  Wales  and 
Scotland,  carried  devastation  over  the  more  civilized  provirice, 
and  taxed  the  skill  and  vigilance  of  the  foreign  soldiery.  Upon 
the  withdrawal  of  the  Roman  troops,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
fifth  century,  the  Romanized  portion  of  the  population,  having 
in  all  probability  lost,  during  their  long  subjection,  their  pris- 
tine valor,  found  themselves  exposed  to  the  furious  incursions 
of  hungry  barbarians,  eager  to  reconquer  what  they  considered 
as  their  birthright.  Swarms  of  Scottish  and  Pictish  savages 
rushed  down  from  their  mountains;  every  trace  of  civilization 
was  swept  away;  the  , furious  devastation  which  they  carried 
through  the  land  is  commemorated  in  the  ancient  songs  and 
legends  of  the  Cymry;  and  the  objects  of  their  vengeance,  after 
vainly  imploring  the  r.ssi-stance  of  Rome  in  a  most  piteous  ap- 
peal, had  recourse  to  the  only  resource  now  left  them,  of  hiring 
some  wa^Jik.e  rao:e,of  foreign  adventurers  to  protect  them.  These 
adventurers  weiVthe  Saxon  pirates. 

3.  The  traces  left  by  the  Celtic  period  in  the  language  of  the 
country  are  very  few.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  Celtic 
dialect,  whether  in  the  form  still  spoken  in  Wales,  or  in  that 
employed  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  and  among  the  Celtic 
population  of  Ireland,  has  only  a  very  remote  affinity  to  modern 
English.  In  a  vocabulary  consisting  of  about  forty  thousand 
words^  it  would  be  difficult  to  point  out  a  hundred  derived  direct- 
ly from  the  Celtic.  It  is  true  that  the  English  language  contains 
a  considerable  number  of  words  ultimately  traceable  to  Celtic 
roots,  but  these  have  been  introduced  into  it  through  the  medium 
of  the  French,  which,  together  with  an  enormous  majority  of 
Latin  words,  contains  some  of  Gaulish  origin.  One  class  of 
words,  however,  is  traceable  to  the  Brito-Roman  period  of  our 
history;  and  this  is  inefiaceably  stamped  upon  the  geography 
of  the  British  Isles.  Even  in  those  parts  of  the  country  which 
have  been  successively  occupied  by  very  different  races,  many 
appellations  of  pure  Celtic  antiquity  have  survived  the  inunda- 
tions of  new  peoples,  and  may  still  be  marked,  like  some  ven- 
erable Druidical  cromlech,  standing  in  hoar  mysterious  ut;e  in 
the  midst  of  a  more  recent  civilization.  Thus  the  termination 
'•'don"  is,  in  some  instances,  as  in  "LondW,"  the  Celtic  word 
"dun" —  a  rock  or  natural  fortress.  Again,  the  termination 
"caster,"  or  "  Chester"  is,  unquestionably,  a  monument  of  the 


A.  D.  597-681.      THE   TEUTONIC  RACE.-  11 

Roman  occupation  of  the  island,  indicating  the  spot  of  a  Roman 
"  castrum  "  or  fortified  post.* 

4.  The  true  foundations  of  the  English  laws,  language,  and 
national  character  were  laid,  between  the  middle  of  the  fifth  and 
the  middle  of  the  sixth  centuries,  deep  in  the  solid  granite  of 
Teutonic  antiquity.      The  piratical  adventurers  whom  the  old 
German  passion  for  plunder  and  glory,  and  also,  perhaps,  the 
entreaties  of  the  "miserable  Britons,"  allured  across  the  North 
Sea  from  the  bleak  shores  of  their  native  Jutland,  Schleswig, 
Holstein,   and   the  coasts  of  the  Baltic,   gradually  established 
themselves  in  those  parts  of  Britain  which  the  Romans  had  oc- 
cupied before  them.     But  the  same  causes  which  prevented  the 
Romans   from    penetrating   into    the    mountainous  districts  of 
Wales  and  Scotland,  continued  to  exclude  the  Saxons  also  from 
those  inaccessible  fastnesses.     The  level,  and  consequently  more 
easily  accessible,  portion  of  Scotland  was  gradually  peopled  by 
the  Anglo-Saxon  race;  and  their  language  and  institutions  were 
established  there  as  completely  as  in  South  Britain  itself.     As 
to  the  half-Romanized  Britons,  one  fact  is  certain,  that  in  gen- 
eral, whether  friendly  or  hostile,  as  possessing  a  less  powerful 
organization   and  a  less  vigorous  moral  constitution   than  the 
Teuton,  they  were  in  the  course  of  time  either  quietly  absorbed 
into  the  more  energetic  race,  or  gradually  disappeared. 

5.  The  true  parentage,  therefore,  of  the  English  nation,  is  to 
be  traced  to  the  Teutonic  race.     The  language  spoken  by  the 
Northern    invaders  was   a  Low-Germanic  dialect,    akin  to   the 
modern  Dutch ;  and,  like  the  people  who  spoke  it,  was  possessed 
of  a  character  at  once  practical  and  imaginative,  at  once  real 
and  ideal.     In  the  modern  English,  the  emotions  and  the  ideas 
that  bring  man  into  relation  with  the  great  objects  of  nature  still 
find  expression  to  a  great  extent  in  Teutonic  words.     The  con- 
version of  the  Anglo-Saxons  to  Christianity  (597-681)  exposed 
their  language  to  the  modifying  influences  of  the  corrupt  but 
more  civilized  Latin  literature  of  the  Lower  Empire  ;  and  soon  a 
very  varied  and  extensive  literature  arose,  of  which  an  account 
will  presently  be  given. f 

6.  For  a  long  period  the  English  colonization  of  Britain  was 
carried  on  by  detached  Teutonic  tribes,  who,  after  ages  of  dim 

*  In  the  same  way  some  other  Latin  words  appear  in  other  names  of  places :  as  strata,  "  paved 
roads,"  in  Strat-ford,  Stret-ton  ;  colonia,  ill  Lin-coin  ;  port-its,  iu  Portsmouth,  ££. 
t  See  Chapter  II. 


12  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CH^P.  I. 

struggle,  finally  grouped  themselves  into  several  independent 
kingdoms,  generally  denominated  the  Heptarchy,  or  Seven  King- 
doms ;  which  were  at  last  absorbed  by  Wessex,  827.  But  hardly 
was  this  accomplished  when  there  occurred  the  third  great  inva- 
sion and  change  of  sovereignty  to  which  the  country  was  des- 
tined, that  of  the  barbarous  and  pagan  Danes,  who  endeavored 
to  treat  the  Saxons  as  the  Saxons  had  treated  the  Celts.  But, 
by  the  heroism  and  wisdom  of  the  illustrious  Alfred,  this  catas- 
trophe was  averted ;  the  two  fierce  races,  nearly  allied  in  origin 
and  blood,  consented  to  an  amalgamation  which  did  not  produce 
any  very  material  change  in  the  language  or  institutions  of  the 
country.  In  the  North  and  East  of  England,  however,  as  in  some 
of  the  maritime  regions  of  Scotland,  where  colonies  of  Danes 
established  themselves,  there  still  survive,  in  the  idiom  of  the 
peasantry  and  the  names  of  families  and  places,  evident  marks 
of  a  Scandinavian  instead  of  an  Anglo-Saxon  population.  As 
examples  of  this  we  may  cite  the  now  immortal  name  of  Have- 
lock,  derived  from  a  famous  sea-king,  who  is  said  to  have  founded 
the  ancient  town  of  Grimsby,  so  called  after  Grim  in  the  story. 
But  still  the  pure  English  element  predominates,  alike  in  the 
language  and  in  the  population. 

7.  Even  before  the  Norman  Conquest,  many  classical  words 
had  found  their  way  into  our  language.     The  cultivation  of  the 
Latin  literature  in  the  monasteries,  and  the  employment  of  the 
Latin  language  in  the  services  of  the  Church,  had  incorporated 
with  the  Saxon  tongue  a  considerable  number  of  Latin  words. 
Alfred,  we  know,  translated  into  English  the  "Consolations" 
of  BoCthius ;  the  Venerable  Bede,  and  other  Saxon  ecclesiastics, 
composed  chronicles  and  legends  in  Latin,  so  that  a  considerable 
influx  of  Latin  words  may  have  become  perceptible  in  it  before 
the  appearance  of  Normans  on  our  shores.     Besides,  the  family 
connection  between  the  last  Anglo-Saxon  dynasty  and  the  neigh- 
boring dukes  of  Normandy  must  have  tended  to  increa'se  mate- 
rially the  number  of  foreign  words. 

8.  The  most  important  change  consequent  upon  the  subjuga- 
tion of  the  country  by  the  Normans  was  obviously  the  establish- 
ment in  England  of  the  great  feudal  principle  of  the  military 
tenure  of  land,  of  the  chivalric  spirit  and  habits  which  were  the 
natural  result  of  feudal  institutions,  and  lastly,  of  the  broad  de- 
marcation which  separated  society  into  the  two  great  classes  of 
the  Nobles  and  the  Serfs.     But  it  is  with  the  effects  of  the  Nor- 


A.  I).  827-1066.     THE  DANES  AND  NORMANS.  13 

man  Conquest  upon  the  language  of  the  country  that  we  are  at 
present  concerned.  On  their  arrival  in  France,  the  Northmen 
had  exchanged  for  their  native  Scandinavian  language  a  dialect 
of  that.great  Romance  *  speech  which  extended  during  the  Mid- 
dle Ages  from  the  Northern  shore  of  the  Mediterranean  to  the 
British  Channel,  and  which  may  be  defined  as  the  decomposi- 
tion of  the  classical  Latin.  It  was  soon  divided  into  two  great 
sister-idioms,  the  Langue-d'Oc  and  the  Langue-d'Oil  (so  called 
from  the  different  words  for  _y<?«?),  the  general  boundary  or  line  of 
demarcation  between  them  being  roughly  assignable  as  coincid- 
ing with  the  Loire.  The  Langue  d'Oc,  spoken  to  the  south  of 
this  river,  was  subsequently  called  the  Provencal;  the  Langue 
d'Oil  was  the  parent  of  the  French.  In  both,  the  language  of 
ancient  Rome,  a  highly  inflected  and  complicated  tongue,  had 
lost  all,  or  nearly  all  its  inflections  and  grammatical  complexity. 
Thus  the  Latin  substantive  and  adjective  lost  all  those  termina- 
tions which  in  the  original  language  expressed  relation,  as  the 
various  cases  of  the  different  declensions ;  these  relations  being 
thenceforward  indicated  by  the  simpler  expedient  of  prepositions. 
9.  But  together  with  the  institutions  of  feudalism  the  Normans 
brought  with  them  the  poetry  of  feudalism,  that  is,  the  poetry  of 
chivalry.  The  la  is  and  romances,  the  fabliaux,  and  the  legends 
of  mediaeval  chivalry  soon  began  to  modify  the  rude  poetical 
sagas  and  the  tedious  narratives  of  the  lives  of  saints  and  her- 
mits which  had  formed  the  bulk  of  the  literature  of  Saxon  Eng- 
land. The  Trouvcre  and  Troubadour,  which  are  obviously  but 
two  forms  of  the  same  word  as  pronounced  respectively  by  the 
population  who  spoke  the  Langue-d'Oil  and  the  Langue-d'Oc, 
displaced  the  old  English  Gleeman,  whose  joy  of  the  ban- 
quet was  obliged  to  give  way  to  their  gay  saber  and  guaye  science. 
The  imaginative  or  poetical  literature  of  the  Trouveres,  however, 
had  taken  a  narrative,  that  of  the  Troubadours  a  lyric,  form  : 
for  narrative  is  the  necessary  type  in  which  the  imagination,  the 
sentiments,  and  the  memory,  characteristics  of  a  Northern  race, 
are  wont  to  clothe  themselves,  while  the  ardent  and  transitory 
passion  of  the  South  inevitably  expresses  itself  in  the  lyric  form. 
Many  of  the  interminable  romances  of  the  Trouveres,  as  requir- 
ing literary  culture  and  leisure,  may  be  traced  to  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal profession  ;  while  the  shorter  and  more  lively  lyric  and  satiric 
effusions  which  constitute  the  bulk  of  the  Troubadour  literature 

*  Eomance  comes  from  the  late  T-ntin  word  Romancms,  another  form  of  Romanus.    The  old 
French  language  is  constantly  called  Lingua  Jlomana,  "  the  Roman  tongue.'1 


14  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  I. 

•were  frequently  the  productions  of  princes,  knights,  and  ladies, 
the  power  of  writing  verse  being  considered  as  one  of  the  neces- 
sary accomplishments  of  a  gentleman  : 

"  lie  coude  songes  ifiakc,  and  wel  endite." 

10.  Though  the  native  language  was  not  altogether  unaffected 
by  the  Norman-French,  which  for  three  centuries  was  spoken  by 
the  higher  classes  in  England,  yet  it  is  an  error  to  represent  Eng- 
lish as  springing  from  a  mixture  of  Anglo-Saxon  and  French; 
since  a  mixed  language,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term,  is  an  im- 
possibility.    English  still  remained  essentially  a  German  tongue, 
though  it  received  such  large  accessions  of  French  words  as  ma- 
terially to  change  its  character.     To  fix  with  precision  the  date 
when  this  change  took  place  is  manifestly  an  impossible  task. 
It  was  a  gradual  process  ;  and  must  have  advanced  with  more  or 
less  rapidity  in  different  parts  of  the  country.     But  this  material 
change  was  brought  about,  according  to  Hallam  :  "i.  by  con- 
tracting or  otherwise  modifying  the  pronunciation  and  orthog- 
raphy of  words ;  2.  by  omitting  many  inflections,  especially  of 
the  noun,  and  consequently  making  more  use  of  articles  and  aux- 
iliaries;  and,  3.  by  the  introduction  of  French  derivatives." 

11.  The  picturesque  illustration,  so  happily  employed  by  Scott 
in  the  opening  chapter  of  Ivanhoe,  has  often  been  quoted  as  a 
good  popular  exemplification  of  the  mode  in  which  the  Saxon 
and  French  elements  were  blended  :  the  common  animals  serv- 
ing for  food  to  man,  while  under  the  charge  of  Saxon  serfs  and 
bondmen,  retained  their  Teutonic  appellation;  but,  when  served 
up  at  the  table  of  the  Norman  oppressor,  they  received  a  French 
designation.     As  examples  of  this,  he  cites  the  parallels  Ox  and 
Beef,  Swine  and  Pork,  Sheep  and  Mutton,  Calf  and  Veal*     But 
the  process  of  fusion  continued  through  centuries;   and  it  is  the 
special  glory  of  Chaucer  that  he  harmonized  the  two  elements, 
and  put  the  last  touch  to  the  consolidation  of  the  English  lan- 
guage.    Still  traces  of  the  peculiar  alliterative  system  that  pre- 
vailed before  the  Conquest,  are  perceptible  for  a  period  subsequent 
to  the  reign  of  Richard  II. ,  while  the  elaborate  compositions 
addressed  to  the  still  purely  Norman  nobility  retain  much  of  the 
French  spirit  in  their  diction  and  imagery. 

12.  A  consecutive  account  of  the  various  English  works  pro- 
duced before  the  Conquest  will  be  given  in  the  next  chapter. 

*  This  distiPcti.n),  however,  is  of  comparatively  modern  origin.    As  late. as  Shakes-peso's  limo 
Mutton  and  Eccf  were  used  of  the  living  animals.    Merchant  «•>/  !*<./» ice,  .Act  J   Su. ;]. 


A.  D.  680-973.     OLD  ENGLISH  POETRY.  15 


CHAPTER    II. 

ENGLISH    LITERATURE    TO    THE    NORMAN    CONOJJEST. 

13.  No  spojcen  language  of  modern  Europe  has  so  ancient  a- 
literature  as  the  English.     For  it  is  in  the  tongue  which  we  now 
speak  that  the  thoughts,  sentiments,  and  feelings  of  the  English 
people  have  found  expression  for  more  than  fourteen  centuries. 
Before  a  single  Englishman  had  set  foot  on  British  soil,  while 
Roman  and  Celt  still  grappled  in  desperate  strife,  or  dwelt  peace- 
fully together  as  conqueror  and  subject,  our  native  tongue,  rug- 
ged and  meagre  as  it  must  have  been,  was  employed  to  express 
the  simple  wants  and  simple  conceptions  of  the  English  race. 
There  was,  strange  as  it  may  appear,  an  English  literature  be- 
fore there  was  an  England. 

14.  Differing  in  many  particulars,  the  rude  dialect  that  our 
forefathers  brought  with  them  to  Britain  is  the  same  in  all  essen- 
tial respects  as  our  present  language.     It  has  undergone  many 
changes  and  modifications,  has  been   affected  by  external  and 
internal   influences,  has   stripped  itself  of  the  great  mass  of  its 
inflections,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  acquired  an  immense  ampli- 
tude of  expression  by  the  unhesitating  adoption  of  new  words 
from   all  manner   of  sources  —  in  fact,   has  passed  from   early 
youth  to  mature  manhood;  but  in  all  the  features  that  consti- 
tute identity  it  is  the  same. 

15.  Before  proceeding  any  farther,  therefore,  it  were  well  for 
us  to  get  rid  of  the  erroneous  notion,  that  our  present  speech  is 
not  the  speech  of  our  fathers,  as  well  as  of  the  unscientific  clas- 
sification of  the  various  stages  through  which  this  speech  has 
passed.     For  the  first  is  false  in  fact;  and  the  second,  by  substi- 
tuting the  terms  Anglo-Saxon  and  Semi- Saxon  for  the  plain  word 
English  that  Alfred  used,*  perpetuates  the  misconception.     In 
the  language  of  Sir  F.  Palgrave,f  the  use  of  these  expressions 

*  -iElfred  Kyning  wses  wealhstod  Slsse  bee,  and  hie  of  boclrcdene  on  Enrjlisc  wende.    "  vEl- 
fred  King  was  commentator  qf  this  book,  and  it  from  book-language  into  English  turned." 
f  "  Normandy  and  .England,"  iii.  596. 


16  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  II. 

conveys  "  a  most  false  idea  of  our  civil  history.  It  disguises 
the  continuity  of  affairs,  and  substitutes  the  appearance  of  a 
new  formation  in  the  place  of  a  progressive  evolution."  And  it 
is  so  with  our  native  tongue  as  well.  It  has  grown  to  be  \vhat 
it  is,  obeying  the  spontaneous  impulse  from  within ;  not  entire  • 
ly  uninfluenced  by  the  Norman  conquest,  and  other  events,  but 
still  steadily  advancing  in  spite  of  them  on  its  own  predestined 
way,  according  to  the  law  of  its  own  nature. 

16.  Keeping  these  facts  before  us,  then,  and  remembering  that 
all  classifications  of  the  kind  must  be  to  a  great  extent  arbitrary, 
we  are  justified  in  arranging  these  successive  developments  in 
the  following  way  :  — 

1.  Old  English,  from  the  earliest  period  to  1154.     During  this 
period  English  was  highly  inflected  in  its  grammar,  and  mainly 
homogeneous  in  its  vocabulary. 

2.  Middle  English,  from  1154  to  about  1500.    This  is  the  transi- 
tion period,  during  which  the  grammar  was  rapidly  relieving  itself 
of  its  complicated  forms,  and  the  vocabulary  was  freely  taking 
in  words  from  every  quarter,  principally  from  the  French. 

3.  Modern   English,   from    about  1500  to  the   present  time. 
Grammar  and  vocabulary,  though  still  undergoing  slight  modi- 
fications, are  now  practically  fixed. 

These  periods  will  correspond  respectively  to  the  boyhood, 
youth,  and  manhood  of  the  English  language. 

17.  When  then  did  our  literature  begin?    Clearly  with  the 
first  authentic  utterance   of  the  English   race  in   the  English 
tongue ;  and  the  first  now  extant  is  the  poem  of  Beowulf. 

i.  OLD  ENGLISH  (commonly  called  ANGLO-SAXON)  POETRY. 

18.  The  poem  called  BEOWULF  seems  to  have  originated  in  the 
primitive  seat  of  the  Angles,   at  Schleswig,  and  to  have  been 
brought  over  to  England  about  the  end  of  the  fifth  century.     Its 
spirit  is  that  of  the  old   heathen  Germans.     Its  subject  is  the 
expedition  of  Prince  Beowulf,  a  lineal  descendant  of  Woden,  on 
the  adventure  of  delivering  a  king  from  a  destructive  monster, 
called  the  Grendel,  which  enters  the  royal  hall  at  midnight,  and 
destroys  many  of  the  warriors  who  are  sleeping  there.      The 
poem  is  supposed  to  be  allegorical,  this  monster  representing 
the   poisonous  exhalation   from   a   neighboring  marsh ;    ami    it 
illustrates  the  early  predilection  of  our  ancestors  for  that  kixid 


A.  D.  680-937.       OLD  ENGLISH  POETRY.  17 

of  composition.  The  style  is  very  similar  to  that  of  the  old 
Scandinavian  sagas ;  and  the  hero  is  connected  with  the  races 
that  appear  in  the  Lay  of  the  Nibelung. 

19.  The    BATTLE  OF    FINNESBURH  —  "a  small  fragment,  in 
which  we  meet  Hengist,  the  mythical  warrior"  —  and  the  TRAV- 
ELLER'S SONG  are  also  assigned  to  the  same  period.     The  latter 
records  the  wanderings  of  a  certain  gleeman,  the  contemporary 
of  Eormanric  (Hermanaric),  and  vEtla  (Attila). 

20.  But  C^EDMON  "  was  the  first  Englishman  —  it  may  be  the 
first  individual  of  Gothic  race  —  who  exchanged  the  gorgeous 
images  of  the  old  mythology  for  the  chaste  beauties  of  Christian 
poetry.*     According  to  Bede,  he  was  a  monk  of  Whitby,  and  he 
died  about  the  year  680.     His  Metrical  Paraphrase  of  the  Scrip- 
tures (Spec.  Eng.  Lit.  1,  page  17)  produced  an  extraordinary  in- 
fluence upon  our  national  modes  of  thought  and  expression,  and 
won  for  him  the  deep  reverence  of  five  centuries  of  Englishmen. 
The  manuscript  of  his  works  first  found  its  way  into  the  hands 
of  Junius  in  1654,  and  by  him  was  published  in  1665.     Indeed  it 
has  been  maintained  by  some,  that  it  was  this  work  that  first  sug- 
gested to  MiltQn  the  subject  of  his  renowned  Epic,  whom  they 
also  assert  to  be  under  distinct  literary  obligations  to  the  elder 
poet.    Undoubtedly  Milton  commenced  the  composition  of  Para- 
dise Lost  not  many  years  after  the  discovery  of  Csedmon ;  and 
in  one  passage  at  least —  Satan's  soliloquy  in  Hell  —  he  bears  a 
striking  resemblance  to  the  old  Anglian.     His  subject  also,  to  a 
great  extent,  carries  him  over  the  same  ground.     Cjedmon,  like 
Milton,  describes  the  revolt  of  the  wicked  angels,  their  expulsion 
from  heaven  and  descent  into  hell,  together  with  the  creation  of 
the  world,  and  other  kindred  events. 

21.  Next  in  order,  both  of  time  and  merit,  comes  the  BRUNAN- 
BURH  WAR  SONG,  which  in  massive,  ponderous  verse,   highly 
characteristic  of  the  race,  describes  the  great  battle  of  that  name 
(937),  when  "yEthelstan  king,  of  earls  the  lord,  and  Eadmund 
sethling  "  rolled  back  into  utter  rout  the  combined  powers   of 
Scot,  Cymry,  and  Northman  under  their  leader  Anlaf,  the  Dane. 
This  great  national  song  of  victory  is  preserved  in  almost  everv 
copy  of  the  Saxon  Chronicle,  where  onlyit  is  found ;  and  it  has 
kindled  the  enthusiasm  of  modern  editors  to  an  unwonted  pitch. 
It  is  indeed  a  noble  piece  of  verse,  honorable  to  the  race  that 

*  Guest's  "  English  Rhythms,"  ii.  23. 
2 


18  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  II. 

produced  it,  giving  utterance  to  the  deep-toned  exultation  of  the 
English  people  at  their  great  deliverance,  in  the  most  powerful 
and  glowing  language. 

22.  It  is  to  the  same  source  —  the  Saxon  Chronicle  —  that  we 
owe  many  other  magnificent  outbursts  of  old  English  verse.    The 
ANNEXATION  OF  MERCIA  (942)  ;  the  CORONATION  OF  EDGAR  at 
Bath  (973),  as  well  as  the  Brunanburh  War  Song,  are  believed  to 
have  been  popular  songs  which  the  compiler  for  the  time  being 
inserted  in  his  copy  of  the  Chronicle.    There  are  other  poems  in 
the  same  work,  however,  which  were  evidently  composed  for  the 
places  in  which  they  are  found.     On  certain  occasions,  such  as 
the  death  of  Edgar,  the  murder  of  Edward  the  Martyr,  the  death 
of  Edward  the  Confessor,  it  would  seem  that  the  Chronicler  found 
mere  prose  inadequate  to  the  expression  of  his  feelings,  and  was 
accordingly  obliged  to  break  out  into  verse. 

23.  But  the  BATTLE  OF  MALDON  is  a  separate  composition.    It 
celebrates  the  valorous  deeds  and  heroic  death  of  the  brave  Eal- 
dorman  Brihtnoth,  who  with  all  his  faithful  gesiths,  fell  in  des- 
perate fight  with  the  Pagan  Northmen  at  Maldon  in  991.     This 
striking  episode  in  the  disastrous  reign  of  the  imbecile  Ethelred 
appears  to  have  deeply  affected  the  national  heart,  and  the  result 
is  one  of  the  most  spirit-stirring  bursts  of  song  ever  written. 
The  battle  is  described  circumstantially;  the  warlike  exploits  of 
the  several  combatants,  whose  names  are  duly  given,  are  mi- 
nutely detailed  in  true  Homeric  fashion.     No  composition  of  the 
time  possesses  greater  interest,  not  only  for  its  rare  poetic  merits, 
but  for  the  light  it  reflects  upon  the  military  principles,  tactics, 
and  usages  of  Englishmen  before  the  conquest. 

24.  These  works,  —  with  the  fragmentary  JUDITH,  King  Alfred's 
Paraphrase  of  the  Metres  of  Botithius  (Spec.  Eng.  Lit.  #),  and 
a  few  other  scraps  of  verse  which  are  found  scattered  through 
various  prose  compositions, — may  be  said  to  constitute  almost 
all  the  poetical  treasures  of  our  nation  before  the  Conquest. 
They  are  all  written  upon  the  same  metrical  principle,  allitera- 
tion.    Though  appearing  generally  at  long  intervals,  and  rarely 
extending  to  any  very  great  length,  they  are  exceedingly  valua- 
ble —  revealing,  as  they  do,  the  mental  constitution  of  our  an- 
cestors, and  showing  that  Englishmen  were  built  pretty  much 
on  the  same  model  then  as  now.    They  are  the  sincere  utterances 
of  a  grave  people,  with  an  immense  fund  of  radical  lire  deep- 
beated  within  them  —  not  accustomed  to  give  vert  to  their  feel- 


A.  D.  849-901.      OLD  ENGLISH  PROSE.  19 

ings  save  upon  great  occasions,  and  then  expressing  them  with 
somewhat  of  solemnity,  even  in  the  midst  of  their  excitement. 
The  bright  sparkle  of  lyric  verse  we  cannot  expect  from  them  — 
neither  the  language  nor  the  national  character  was  adapted  to 
its  production  —  and,  indeed,  we  can  yet  boast  of  but  few  bril- 
liant pieces  in  that  department  of  poetry. 

2.   OLD  ENGLISH  (commonly  called  ANGLO-SAXON)  PROSE. 

25.  First  in  this  province  comes  the  honored  name  of  ALFRED 
(849-901).     No  sooner  had  the  great  King  effected  the  deliver- 
ance of  his  people  from  their  Danish  enemies,  than  he  eagerly 
set  to  work  to  lift  them  up  from  the  ignorance  and  degradation 
into  which  they  had  sunk.     Thinking  that  he  would  materially 
assist  his  purpose  by  translating  into  the  vernacular  such  stan- 
dard works  upon  religion,  morals,  geography,  and  history  as  were 
then  current,  he  not  only  invited  to  his  court  men  of  learning 
and  ability  from  whatever  quarter  he  could  find  them,  but  pro- 
ceeded by  a  careful  course  of  training  —  irksome  enough,  we  may 
be  sure,  at  his  time  of  life  —  to  fit  himself  for  the  task.    By  these 
means  he  succeeded,  to  a  great  extent,  in  accomplishing  the  de- 
sire of  his  heart ;  and  among  Royal  authors  Alfred  still  stands 
preeminent.      His   most  important  translations  were  those  of 
Bede's   Ecclesiastical  History,  the  Ancient  History  of  Orosius, 
BoVthius  de  Consolatione  Philosophic  ;  to  which  last  he  added, 
by  way  of  preface,  the  Pastorale  of  St.  Gregory.     (Spec.   Eng. 
Lit.  &,*)     To  the  second  he  prefixed  an  original  geographical  de- 
scription of  Germania,  which  he  prepared  himself  with  great 
care;  and  for  which  a  considerable  portion  of  the  materials  was 
supplied  to  the  king  by  Ohthere  and  Wulfstan,  both  adventurous 
navigators,  the  first  a  native  of  Helgoland,  in  Norway. 

26.  Alfred  was  something  more  than  a  mere  translator.     Not 
only  does  he  deal  pretty  freely  with  the  text  of  his  author —  con- 
densing   some    passages  and  expanding  others  —  cutting  away 
redundancies  and  making   additions  as   he   thinks   fit;  but  the 
elaborate  prefaces,   and  the  new  matter  introduced  by  way  of 
comment,  illustration,  or  explanation,  entitle  him  to  be  called  an 
original   author.     He  was   mainly   assisted   in   his  preliminary 
course  of  training,    and  in  the  work  itself,   by  ASSER,   then   a 
monk  of  St.  David's,  but  afterwards  Bishop  of  Sherborne,  to 
whom  we  are  greatly  indebted  for  our  knowledge  of  the  life  and 
character  of  the  noble  king.     (See  p.  21.) 


20  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  II. 

27.  Many  works  also  were  translated  by  the  king's  order,  or 
after  his  example,  —  as  the  Dialogties  of  St.  Gregory,  by  WERE- 
FRITH,  Bishop  of  Worcester,  —  a  number  of  which  have,  by  the 
usual  practice,  been  fathered  on  the  king  himself, 'without  hav- 
ing any  claim  whatever  to  such  a  distinction. 

28.  The  principal  representatives  of  the  purely  religious  ele- 
ment in  the  literature  of  the  time  are  ^LFRIC,  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  surnamed  Grammaticus(&.  1006) ,  WULFSTAN,  Arch- 
bishop of  York  (d.   1023),  and  ^ELFRIC  BATA,  also  Archbishop 
of  York  (d.  1051),  who  was  a  devoted  disciple  of  his  elder  name- 
sake.    The  first  is  distinguished  as  the  author  of  eighty  hom- 
ilies—  his    chief  work,  —  of   the    translation    of  the   Books    of 
Moses,  and  by  his  attempts  to  revrve  the  study  of  Latin  among 
his  countrymen,  with  which  view  he  wrote  a  Latin  Grammar  and 
Colloquium.     The  two  others  also  enjoy  some  distinction,   the 
first  as  a  writer  of  homilies,  the  second  as  having  republished 
the  grammar  and  colloquium  of  his  master,  and  written  a  life 
of  Bishop  Ethelwold  (925-984). 

29.  One  great  monument  of  prose  literature  still  remains  — 
the  SAXON  CHRONICLE.     This  work  exists  in  no  less  than  seven 
separate  forms,  each  named  after  the  monastery  in  which  it  was 
compiled  —  of  which,    however,   the  Winchester   and   Peterbo- 
rough Chronicles  are  the  most  valuable.     The  ordinary  account 
given  of  the  origin  of  this  work  is,  that  it  was  first  composed, 
at  the  solicitation  of  King  Alfred,  by  Plegmund,  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  who  brought  it  down  to  the  year  891,  whence  it  was 
continued  as  a  contemporary  record,  to  the  accession  of  Henry 
II.  in  1154.     But  there  is  absolutely  no  evidence  of  this.     Cer- 
tain features  of  the  earliest  copy,  the  Winchester,   indicate  a 
chronicle  that  was  composed  in  Alfred's  reign,  but  there  is  noth- 
ing whatever   to  connect  it  with  either  Alfred  or  Plegmund. 
This  chronicle  —  the  earliest  form   of  which  begins  with    the 
arrival  of  Julius  Caesar  in  Britain,  and  the  latest  ends  with  the 
year  1154, — is  remarkable  as  the  first  ever  written  in  Teutonic 
prose,  and  as   furnishing  us  with   almost  our  only  trustworthy 
materials  for  the  early  history  of  the  English  people.    The  later 
entries  are  also  the  latest  specimens  of  old  English. 

80.  The  conte/nptuous  judgment  that  is  sometimes  pronounced 
on  this  work  is  altogether  unjust.  The  earlier  portions  are  cer* 
tainly  meagre  in  their  details,  and  altogether  devoid  of  the  quali- 
ties we  expect  to  find  in  an  elaborate  historical  narrative ;  but 


A.  D.  672-893.    EARLY  LATIN  WRITERS.  21 

in  the  later  the  chroniclers,  whoever  they  may  be,  occasionally 
rise  into  sustained  descriptions,  characterized  by  vigor  of  style, 
and  a  grave,  sober  eloquence.  One  of  the  best  passages  is  to 
be  found  in  the  Peterborough  copy  under  the  year  1087,  m  which 
the  character  of  the  great  Conqueror  is  drawn  with  extraordinary 
fidelity  and  force.  Mr.  Earle  is  of  opinion,  that  "putting  aside 
the  Hebrew  annals,  there  is  not  anywhere  known  a  series  of 
early  vernacular  history  comparable  to  the  Saxon  Chronicles." 
Excepting  the  Romance  of  Apollonius  of  Tyre  (which  story  is 
the  same  as  that  of  Shakspeare's  Pericles),  and  a  translation 
of  the  Gospels  into  the  vernacular,  there  is  hardly  anything  of 
interest  remaining.  The  various  laws  and  charters  emanating 
from  our  early  kings  and  princes,  and  written,  for  the  most  part, 
in  the  native  language,  do  not  properly  fall  under  the  head  of  lit- 
erature. 

We  shall  now  take  a  passing  glance  at  our  principal  writers  in 
Latin. 

3.    LATIN  WRITERS  BEF/DRE  THE  CONQUEST. 

31.  Of  these  by  far  the  greatest  is  BEDE,  or  Boeda,  surnamed 
the  Venerable  (672-735),  who,  born  at  Monk  Wearmouth,  spent 
the  greater  part  of  his  life  at  the  monastery  of  Jarrow-upon-the- 
Tyne.  His  Ecclesiastical  History  of  the  English  was  for  many 
centuries  the  only  source  of  knowledge  to  the  nation  regarding 
its  early  history.  Written  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  among 
the  Angles  and  Saxons  the  memory  of  their  conversion  to  the 
Christian  faith,  this  work  embraces  large  sections  of  their  politi- 
cal history  as  well,  more  especially  the  rise  and  growth  of  the 
various  petty  Teutonic  states  throughout  the  island.  In  careful 
research,  in  arrangement  of  materials,  in  scrupulous  fidelity  and 
felicity  of  style  he  rises  far  above  all  the  Gothic  historians  of  his 
time.  His  other  compositions,  theological,  scientific,  and  gram- 
matical, though  immensely  voluminous,  and  not  altogether  with- 
out merit,  do  not  concern  us  here. 

o2.  ASSER,  Bishop  of  Sherborne  (d.  910),  the  friend  and  asso- 
ciate of  Alfred,  is  the  supposed  author  of  an  extant  biography 
of  his  master.  This  is  a  work  of  great  interest,  but  its  authen- 
ticity has  been  fiercely  disputed.  Though  the  question  is  sur- 
rounded with  difficulties,  the  balance  of  probability  would  seem 
to  be  in  favor  of  the  substantial  truth  of  what  the  book  itself 
sets  forth,  that  it  was  written  in  893.  At  any  rate,  the  majority 


22  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  II. 

of  competent  judges  are  fully  satisfied  that  it  is  the  genuine  work 
of  the  learned  bishop.  King  Alfred  was  not  the  only  writer  of 
the  royal  stock  of  Cerdic.  What  Mr.  Earle  calls  "  the  first  com- 
prehensive Latin  work  founded  upon  the  Saxon  Chronicle,"  was 
written  in  the  reign  of  Ethelred  II.  by  ETHEL  WEARD,  who  traced 
his  descent  from  the  last  brother  of  Alfred,  the  heroic  Ethelred. 
The  work  ends  with  the  last  year  of  Edgar  (975)  ;  and  though 
in  the  main  a  mere  translation  from  the  vernacular  chronicles, 
is  not  without  a  kind  of  value,  in  spite  of  the  author's  ridiculous 
pedantry.  He  occasionally  throws  a  feeble  glimmer  of  light  upon 
the  dark  passages  of  our  early  history. 

33.  There  were  many  other  distinguished  Englishmen  belong- 
ing to  this  period  who  wrote  in  Latin,  —  WILFRED  of  York, 
(d.  709),  afterwards  canonized  ;  EGBERT  (678-766)  ;  ALCUIN  (725- 
804),  so  well  known  in  the  history  of  Charlemagne;  but  their 
works  either  have  been  lost,  or  possess  but  little  interest  for  mod- 
ern readers,  being  composed  for  the  most  part  of  dry  theologi- 
cal treatises,  or  wearisome  verses. 


A.  D.  1200.  LAYAMON. 


CHAPTER    III. 

FROM   THE    CONQUEST    TO    GEOFFREY    CHAUCER. 

34.  FOR  more  than  a  century  after  the  Norman  Conquest  Eng- 
lish literature  may  be  said  to  have  ceased  altogether.*     This 
event,  so  fatal  to  the  native  aristocracy,  seemed  at  first  to  have 
swept  away  in  common  ruin  the  laws,  language,  and  arts  of  the 
English  people,  and  to  have  blotted  out  England  from  the  roll- 
call  of  the  nations.     A  foreign  King  and  aristocracy,  an  alien 
language  and  literature,  ruled  in  the  land ;  the  old  speech  was 
no  longer  heard  in  the  halls  of  the  great,  and  lived  only  on  the 
lips  of  the  people;  native  genius  no  longer  strove  to  utter  itself 
in  the  native  tongue,  and  the  voice  of  the  English  nation  seemed 
stilled  for  ever.     But  it  was  not  the  stillness  of  death ;  in  a  few 
generations  signs  of  returning  life  began  to  show  themselves ; 
and  the  English  nation  emerged  from  the  fiery  trial,  with  its  full 
equipment  of  language,  laws,  and  literature  —  materially  altered 
indeed,  and  perhaps  improved  —  but  still  bearing  the  ineffacea- 
ble Teutonic  stamp.     The  national  life  was  not  annihilated  at 
Senlac;  it  was  but  suspended  for  a  time. 

35.  The  specific  effect  of  the  Conquest  upon  our  native  tongue 
has  been  referred  to  already,  and  need  only  be  briefly  spoken  of 
here.    Tendencies  had  set  in  —  common  to  the  English  with  other 
languages  of  the  same  stock  —  consisting  mainly  in  an  apparent 
desire  on  the  part  of  our  language  to  shake  off  the  complicated 
net-work  of  inflections  that  seemed  to  fetter  its  free  utterance. 
These  tendencies  existed  before  the  Norman  Conquest;  would 
have  worked  their  way  to  the  due  result  in  spite  of  it;  and  the 
great  political  revolution  did  but  give  them  an  additional  im- 
pulse.    Nor  wras  even  this  last  a  direct  consequence.     The  ver- 
nacular speech  was  driven  from  literature  altogether  for  a  time, 
and  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  the  cottages  of  the  people ;  where, 
no  longer  fixed  by  the  old  steadying  forces  —  for  it  is  always  the 

*  The  Saxon  Chronicle,  confined  to  the  Abbey  of  Peterborough,  and  accessible  only  to  a  few 
mouks,  can  hardly  be  culled  literature. 


24  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  III. 

effect  of  a  literature  to  give  permanence  to  the  forms  of  a  lan- 
guage—  and  exposed  to  many  varying  influences,  it  fell  into 
utter  dislocation.  The  process  of  enfranchisement  was  thereby 
accelerated ;  and  when,  at  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century, 
this  speech  rose  to  the  surface  once  more,  it  had  travelled  much 
farther  on  its  prescribed  course,  than  it  would  have  done  had  it 
been  left  to  itself.  Still  it  was  the  old  tongue.  In  the  words  of 
Max  Muller,  "not  a  single  drop  of  foreign  blood  has  entered 
into  the  organic  system  of  the  English  language.  The  Grammar, 
the  blood  and  the  soul  of  the  language,  is  as  pure  and  unmixed 
in  English  as  spoken  in  the  British  Isles,  as  it  was  when  spoken 
on  the  shores  of  the  German  Ocean  by  the  Angles,  Saxons,  and 
Juts  of  the  continent."  * 

36.  This  —  the  Middle  English  Stage  —  m ay  be  called  the  rev- 
olutionary period  of  the  language,  during  which  it  was  a  state 
of  apparently  hopeless  disorganization.      There  was  a  general 
break-up  of  the  old  grammatical  system ;  and  uncertainty,  con- 
fusion, and  fluctuation  prevailed  everywhere.      Three  dialects 
—  the   Northern,   the   Midland,    and   the  Southern,   each   with 
certain   peculiar   inflectional   forms,   and   each   represented   by 
literary  works  of  some  note  —  now  struggled  for  the  mastery. 
The  influx  of  French  words    too,  though   trifling  at  first,  had 
already  begun  ;  and  for  the  next  three  centuries  the  process  went 
on  with  increasing  rapidity,  until  the  vocabulary  became  to  a 
great  degree  Romance.      Still  there  was  a  general   movement 
towards  simplification  and  new  stability;  each  century  brought 
with  it  a  closer  approximation  to  modern  English ;  and  the  lan- 
guage was  clearly  gravitating  towards  a  new  fixed  condition,  in 
which  "  the  fulness  and  purity  of  the  ancient  inflections"  would 
no  longer  be  found. 

37.  The  interest  of  the  writings  which  will  form  the  subject  of 
this  chapter  is  almost   exclusively  philological    and   historical. 
Their  literary  merits  are  but  small ;  but  they  supply  us  with  the 
means  of  tracing  the  course  of  the  language  through  its  many 
varying  forms ;    and   not   a  few  of  them  occasionally  throw  a 
powerful  light  on  the  feelings  and  aspirations,  the  political  and 
social  condition  of  the  people. 

38.  If  we  except  a  few  fragments  of  verse  —  the  Hymn  of  St. 
Godric,  the  Ely  Song  of  King  Canute,  The  Here  Prophecy,  none 

*  "  Lectures  on  the  Science  of  Language,"  1st  scries,  p.  40 


A.  D.  1200.  LAYAMON.    ORM1N.  25 

of  them  exceeding  eight  lines  in  length  —  the  first  to  break  the 
long  silence  was  LAYAMON,  author  of  the  Bmt,  or  Chronicle  of 
Britain  (A.D.  1200).  (^  )  According  to  his  own  account  he  was 
a  priest  of  Ernley-by-Severn  (svipposed  to  be  Lower  Areley) ; 
and  his  dialect  will,  therefore,  represent  that  of  North  Worces- 
tershire. His  work  is  mainly  a  translation  from  the  Brut  cFAn- 
glcterre,  written  in  the  French  language  by  Robert  Wace,  a 
canon  of  Bayeux  in  the  time  of  Henry  II. ;  but  Layamon  has 
introduced  into  his  work  so  much  other  matter  that  it  extends  to 
thirty-two  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty  lines,  or  more  than 
double  the  length  of  the  original  Brut.  Allusions  to  events  that 
occurred  late  in  the  twelfth  century  enable  us  to  fix  the  date  ap- 
proximately. The  style  of  the  work  —  which  has  come  down  to 
us  in  two  texts,  an  earlier  and  a  later  —  bears  witness  to  Nor- 
maii  influence,  both  in  the  structure  of  the  verse  and  the  manner 
of  the  narrative,  but  not  nearly  to  so  great  an  extent  as  might 
have  been  expected  from  the  translator  of  a  French  original. 
The  earlier  text  has  not  fifty  words  taken  from  the  French ;  and 
both  texts  only  about  ninety.  Though  it  still  retains  a  large 
proportion  of  the  old  intlectional  fprms,  a  broad  chasm  sepa- 
rates it  from  the  language  of  Alfred;  and  though  composed  on 
the  old  metrical  system,  alliteration,  it  contains  a  considerable 
number  of  rhyming  couplets  as  well.  "To  the  historical  stu- 
dent," says  Sir  F.  Madden,  4i  the  work  is  important,  as  the  last 
and  fullest  form  of  the  old  Celtic  traditions  concerning  early 
British  history." 

89.  The  AXCREN  RIWLE,  or  Rule  of  Female  Anchorites  —  a 
code  of  monastic  precepts,  written  for  the  guidance  of  a  small 
nunnery  —  is  the  work  of  an  unknown  author,  who  must  have 
lived  in  the  early  part  of  the  thirteenth  century.  It  possesses 
no  literary  value  whatsoever,  but  is  of  great  importance  philo- 
logically.  Though  the  quantity  of  matter  is  but  half  that  of 
Layamon,  it  contains  twice  as  many  French  words;  which  cir- 
cumstance is  perhaps  owing  to  the  fact  that  it  treats  of  religious 
.subjects,  and  was  thereby  obliged  to  take  in  many  words  of 
Latin  derivation. 

40.  ORMIN,  or  ORM,  author  of  the  Ormulum*  (•*)  so  called 
"  because  that  Orni  it  wrought,"  was  a  monk  of  the  order  of  St. 
Augustine,  and  is  supposed  to  have  lived  in  the  east  of  England 
Borne  time  in  the  thirteenth  century.  His  work  is  described  by 
its  editor,  Dr.  White,  (i  as  a  series  of  Homilies  in  an  imperfect 


26  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  III. 

state,  composed  in  metre  without  alliteration,  and,  except  in  a 
very-few  cases,  without  rhyme ;  the  subject  of  the  Homilies  being 
supplied  by  those  portions  of  the  New  Testament  which  were 
read  in  the  daily  services  of  the  Church."  There  is  a  great  di- 
versity of  opinion  among  critics  as  to  the  exact  time  of  its  com- 
position, some  making  it  contemporary  with  Layamon,  others 
finding  in  its  form  and  grammatical  structure  evidence  of  a  later 
date.  And  they  are  equally  at  variance  with  one  another  as  i.) 
the  place.  By  some  scholars  it  is  looked  upon  as  a  specimen  of 
a  North-eastern  patois;  but  Dr.  Guest  considers  it  "  the  oldest, 
the  purest,  and  by  far  the  most  valuable  specimen  of  our  old 
English  dialect  that  time  has  left  us."  If  written,  as  generally 
supposed,  in  the  north-east,  it  tends  to  prove  that  the  Anglian 
•dialect  was  the  first  to  throw  off  the  old  inflections.  Its  peculiar 
spelling,  which  consists  in  the  doubling  of  the  terminal  conso- 
nant of  a  syllable  when  it  has  the  short  sound,  to  which  device 
the  author  attached  great  importance,  throws  some  interesting 
light  on  the  history  of  the  language.  But  few  Latin  words,  and 
scarcely  a  trace  of  French,  are  to  be  found  in  the  Ormulum. 

41.  ROBERT  OF  GLOUCESTER,  who  nourished  about  the  year 
1300,  wrote  a  metrical  Chronicle  of  England,  of  some  importance 
to  the  history  of  both  our  language  and  nation.  (#  )     This  work 
extends  from  the  time  of  Brutus,  the  mythical  founder  of  Britain, 
to  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Henry  III. ;   and  from  events  it  refers 
to,  must  have  been  composed  about  1297.     In  the  earlier  part  it 
closely  follows  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth ;  but  in  the  latter,  it  con- 
tributes, from  more  trustworthy  sources,  some  valuable  infor'ma- 
tion  upon  the  physical  and   social  condition  of  England  in  the 
thirteenth   century.     It  is  written  in  rhyming  lines  of  fourteen 
syllables.     To  the  same  author  a  collection  of  the  Lives  of  the 
English  Saints  is  with  confidence  attributed ;   and  short  works 
on  the  Martyrdom  of  Thomas  &  Becket,  and  the  Life  of  Saint 
Brandan  are  undoubtedly  his. 

42.  The  last  conspicuous  production  in  English  before  Chaucer 
was  a  similar  composition  from  the  pen  of  ROBERT  MAX^YMG, 
or  Robert  of  BRUNNE,  who  was  born  at  Brunne  (Bourne),  in 
Lincolnshire,  in  the  latter  half  of  the  same  century.  (1O)     His 
work  consists  of  two  parts,  which  are  both  taken  from  the  French  ; 
the  first,  coming  down  to  the  death  of  Cadvvalader,  from  Wace's 
Brut;  the  second,  ending  with  the  death  of  Edward  I.,  from  the 
French  of  Peter  of  Langtoft     The  second,  which  has  been  con- 


A.  1).  1333-1352.      LAWRENCE  MINOT.  27 

siderably  enlarged  and  improved,  is,  like  its  original,  in  the 
Alexandrine  twelve-syllable  verse ;  whereas  the  first  retains  the 
octo-sjllabic  metre  of  Wace.  The  language  is  in  a  much  more 
advanced  state  than  that  of  Robert  of  Gloucester;  the  grammar 
having  drawn  a  step  nearer  to  modern  English,  and  the  vocab- 
ulary having  received  a  considerable  accession  of  Romano, 
words. 

43.  A  very  curious  composition  of  the  first  half  of  the  four- 
teenth century  is  the  Ayenbite  of  luivit,  or  Again-biting  —  i.  e., 
Remorse  —  of  Conscience.     It  is  a  consistent  attempt,  made  by 
DAN  MICHEL  OF  NORTHGATE,  in  Kent,  to  write  a  work  wholly 
in  native  Teutonic  words.     The  title  itself  illustrates  his  inge- 
nuity in   word-building;  but  a  more  amusing  specimen  is  the 
word    "  ontodelinde  "  —  "that  which    cannot   be    divided    into 
parts  "  —  for  individual. 

44.  But  the  immediate  predecessor  of  Chaucer  is  LAWRENCE 
MINOT,  whose  ten  poems  on  the  battles  and  victories  of  Edward 
III.  were  most  likely  written  at  various  times  between  the  years 
1333   and   1352.      The   series  begins  with   Halidon  Hill  (1333). 
(Bannockburn  being  introduced  for  the  purpose  of  showing  how 
it  had  been   avenged),    and  ends  with   the   taking  of  Guisnes 
(1352).     These  poems  were  the  first  successful  attempt  to  com- 
bine alliteration  not  only  with  rhyme  but  with  Romance  measures, 
both  of  verse  and  stanza.     They  are  not  without  precision  and 
force  of  expression ;  and  breathe  a  strong  martial,  and  patriotic 
spirit,  characteristic  of  the  reign  of  Edward  III. 

45.  This  is  the  age  of  the  METRICAL  ROMANCE.     For  a  long 
time  after  the  conquest  French  was  the  only  language  of  popular 
literature,  and  was  used  even  by  English  writers  in  this  kind  of 

-composition.  It  is  probable  that  all  our  early  English  metrical 
romances  were  translations  from  the  French ;  and  their  favorite 
metre  is  the  octo-syllabic,  found  in  the  Roman  de  la  Rose  and 
Brut  of  Wace.  The  most  considerable  of  thenr  are  the  Romance 
of  Alexander ;  Tristrem  ;  Richard  Cceur-de-Lton  ;  Ifiomydon  ; 
William  and  the  Werewolf;  the  Geste  of  King  Horn ;  and 
Haz'dok  the  Dane.  The  last  of  these,  which  relates  the  story 
of  the  foundation  of  Grimsby  by  Havelok's  preserver,  Grim,  is 
especially  noteworthy. 

40.  The  free  patriotic  spirit  of  the  people  found  an  utterance 
for  itself  during  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries  in  PO- 
LITICAL SONGS,  many  of  which  are  written  in  English.  By  far 


28  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  III. 

the  most  spirited  is  that  which  is  oldest  in  subject  if  not  in  date, 
the  Song  against  the  King  of  Almaigne,  the  composition  of 
some  fervent  admirer  of  Sir  Simon  the  Righteous,  who  therein 
expresses  his  hearty  satisfaction  at  the  great  victory  of  Lewes, 
and  his  deep  contempt  for  the  poor  figure  cut  in  it  by  Richard, 
Earl  of  Cornwall  and  King  of  the  Romans. 

47.  Of  the  BALLADS  and  poems  of  genuine  native  origin  — 
many  of  them  satirical  —  the  most  remarkable  are  the  Ozvl  and 
the  Nightingale  ;  the  Land  of  Cockayne  ;  the  Body  and  the  Soul ; 
all  of  which  were  produced  in  the  fourteenth  century,  or  not  long 
after. 

48.  These  works,  however,  were  not  all  composed  in  the  same 
dialect.     Ralph  Higden,  writing  about  the  year  1350,  tells  us  that 
in  his  time  the  native  speech  was  split  up  into  three  forms,  the 
Northern,  the  Midland,  and  the  Southern,  distinguished  from 
one  another  by  well-marked  peculiarities ;  and  an  examination 
of  the  writings  described  above  fully  bears  out  his  statement. 
The  Northern,   spoken  as  far  south  as  the  Humber,  with  the 
Pennine  chain  as  its  western  limit,  formed  all  the  persons  of  the 
present  indicative,  singular  and   plural  alike,  in  e$,  and  is  rep- 
resented by  Minot's  poems  :  the  Midland,   extending  from   the 
Ilumber  to  the  Thames,  and  taking  in  the  counties  east  of  the 
Pennine  chain,   but  excluding  Somersetshire,   Gloucestershire, 
and  parts  of  Herefordshire  and  Worcestershire,  formed  its  pres- 
ent indicative  plural  in  en,  and  is  represented  by  the  Ormultim  ; 
and  the  southern,  comprehending  all  the  rest  of  England,  with 
the  same  parts  of  the  verb  in  eth,  is  represented  by  Layamon, 
Robert  of  Gloucester,  and  Dan  Michel  of  Northgate.     Traces  of 
the  differences,  at  least  between  the  second  and  third,  can  be  dis- 
covered even  in  Chaucer;  but  it  was  the  Midland  that  in  the 
main  became  ultimately  the  language  of  England. 

49.  Writings  in  English  are  far  from  representing  the  entire 
intellectual  wealth  of  the  nation  during  this  time;   indeed  they 
form  but  an  insignificant  portion  of  it.     For  almost  three  centu- 
ries after  the  conquest  French  continued  to  be  the  language  of 
polite  literature,  and  Latin  of  theology,  philosophy,  science,  and 
history ;  and  this  country  produced  many  men  of  great  eminence 
in  all  these  provinces.     Strictly  speaking,  these  have  no  claim  to 
a  place  among  the  great  names  of  English  literature;  but  their 
works  exercised  so  important  and  so  lasting  an  influence  on  its 
form,  tone,  and  subject-matter  that  they  cannot  be  altogether 
passed  over. 


A.  D.  1089-1347.     TEE  FRENCH  ROMANCES.  29 

50.  French  Romances,  composed  principally  in  verse,  either  by 
professional  minstrels,  or  by  knights  and  even  kings,  were  then 
the  favorite  reading  of  the  cultivated  classes  ;  but  the  great  mass 
of  them  can  hardly  be  called  ours  at  all,  having  been  imported 
into  this  country  from  the  Continent.     They  had  a  tendency  to 
gather  in  clusters  round  some  great  name;   and  of  these  groups 
the  most  famous  were  those  that  had  Charlemagne  and  Alexan- 
der as  central  figures.     Still  one  cycle,  the  Arthurian,  is  of  gen- 
uine native  growth  ;  and  this  one  happens  to  possess  the  highest 
interest  of  them  all  —  at  least  to  the  present  generation  of  read- 
ers.    Its  origin,  about  which  so  much  has  been  written,  and  so 
little  is  known,  cannot  be  discussed  here ;  but  the  names  of  three 
Englishmen,  LUKE  GALT,  WALTER  MAPES,  the  jovial  Arch- 
deacon of  Oxford,  and  ROBERT  BORRON,  are  the  earliest  men" 
tioned  in  connection  with  it.     The  first  is  said  to  have  translated 
the  Tristrem  from  Latin  into  Romance ;  to  the  second  is  attrib- 
uted the  composition,  in  Latin,  of  the  Birth  and  Life  of  Arthur, 
the  Lancelot,  the  Saint  Graal,  and  the  Death  of  Arthur ;  and 
to  the  last  a  translation  of  the  second  and  third  of  Mapes's  pro- 
ductions is  assigned.     These  all  seem  to  have  been  in  prose. 
Henry  II.  is  believed  to  have  suggested  to  Mapes  the  last  part 
of  his  work;  and  to  have  imposed  by  express  command  his  task 
upon  Borron.     Copies  of  some  of  these  tales  are  found  in  Welsh  ; 
but  to  which  of  the  two  nations,  WTelsh  or  English,  the  original 
property  belonged,  still  remains  an  unsolved  question.     Besides 
these  romances   the  Anglo-Norman   possessed   great   store  of 
Metrical  Chronicles,  Satires,  Fabliaux,  many  of  which  Chaucer 
afterwards  used  as  materials. 

51.  The  principal  writers  in  Latin  were  LANFRANC  (d.'  1089), 
and  ST.  ANSELM  (1033-1109),  in  theology;  John  of  Salisbury 
(d.    1180),   ALEXANDER    HALES,    "  the    Irrefragable    Doctor  " 
(d.    1245),  DUNS  SCOTUS,  "the  Subtle  Doctor"  (d.   1308),  and 
WILLIAM  OF  OCCAM,    "the   Invincible  Doctor"    (d.    1347), -in 
philosophy;    and   ROGER  BACON,   author  of  the    Opus  Ma  jus- 
(d.  1292),  in  science.     The  chief  historical  writers  were  Church- 
men, and,  with  a  few  exceptions,  they  confined  themselves  to 
the  history  of  England.     For   the    time   before    the    Conquest 
FLORENCE  OF  WORCESTER  (d.  1118),  WILLIAM  OP  MALMESBURY 
(1140),  HENRY  OF  HUNTINGDON  (d.  after  1154),  are  our  principal 
authorities  ;  WILLIAM  OF  POITIERS,  and  ORDERICUS  VITALIS,  for 
the  events  of  the  Conqviest  itself;    and  MATTHEW  PARIS  and 
ROGER  OF  WENDOVER,  for  subsequent  times. 


30  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  III. 

52.  English  literature  has  now  reached  the  eve  of  its  first  great 
expansion.  It  has  been  in  existence  for  a  thousand  years,  but 
has  as  yet  produced  no  work  of  pre-eminent  merit,  no  name  that 
is  entitled  to  rank  among  intellects  of  the  highest  order.  Force, 
energy  of  thought  and  expression,  natural  sweetness  and  simple 
pathos,  are  not  wanting;  but  there  is  still  a  complete  absence  of 
artistic  form,  literary  skill,  and  the  higher  qualities  of  true  work- 
manship. Nothing  would  appear  to  portend  the  magnificent 
outburst  that  is  at  hand ;  but  the  student  of  history  can  discern 
forces,  political,  social,  and  spiritual,  at  work  beneath  the 
smooth  surface,  destined  within  a  few  years  to  produce  mo- 
mentous results  in  all  three  departments.  The  national  life 
and  thought  of  England  is  now  passing  through  a  mighty 
quickening  process ;  a  brilliant  page  in  her  history  is  about  to 
open,  in  which  will  appear  many  bright  •  names,  but  none 
brighter  than  that  of  the  first  man  who,  under  these  new  con- 
ditions, spoke  to  the  hearts  of  all  classes  of  the  English  people 
—  GEOFFREY  CHAUCER. 


A.  D.  1300.  CHAUCER.  31 


CHAPTER    IV. 

GEOFFREY    CHAUCER. 

53.  THE  fourteenth  century  is  the  most  important  epoch  in  the 
intellectual  history  of  Europe.     It  is  the  point  of  contact  be- 
tween  two  widely-differing  eras    in    the    social,    religious,    and 
political  annals  of  our  race;  the  slack  water  between  the  ebb  of 
Feudalism  and  Chivalry,  and  the  "young  flood"  of  the  Revival 
of  Letters  and  the  great  Protestant  Reformation.     Of  this  great 
transformation  from  the  old   order   to   the  new,   the   personal 
career,  no  less  than  the  works,  of  the  first  great  English  poet, 
CHAUCER,  will  furnish  us  with  the  most  exact  type  and  expres- 
sion;  for,  like  all  men  of  the  highest  order  of  genius,  he  at  once 
followed  and  directed  the  intellectual  tendencies  of  his  age,  and 
is  himself  the  "  abstract  and  brief  chronicle"  of  the  spirit  of  his 
time.     And  in  the  age  in  which  he  lived  he  was  eminently  hap- 
py ;  the  magnificent  court  of  Edward  III.  had  carried  the  splendor 
of  chivalry  to  the  height  of  its  development;  the  victories  of 
Sluys,  of  Crecy,  and  Poitiers,  by  exciting  the  national  pride, 
tended  to  consummate  the  fusion  into  one  vigorous  nationality 
of  the  two  elements  which  formed  the  English  people  and  the 
English  language.     The  literature,  too,  abundant  in  quantity, 
if  not  remarkable  for  much  originality  of  form,  was  rapidly  tak- 
ing a  purely  English  tone;  the  rhyming  chronicles  and  legen- 
dary romances  were  either  translated  into,  or  originally  composed 
in,  the  vernacular  language. 

54.  In  endeavoring  to  form  an  idea  of  the  intellectual  situa- 
tion of  England  in  the  fourteenth  century,  we  must  by  no  means 
leave  out  of  account  the  vast  influence  exerted  by  the  preaching 
of  Wiclif,  and  the  mortal  blow  struck  by  him  against  the  foun- 
dations of  Catholic  supremacy  in  England.     This,  together  with 
the  general  hostility  excited  by  the  intolerable  corruptions  of  the 
monastic  orders,  which  had  gradually  invaded   the  rights,  the 
functions,  and  the  possessions,  of  the  far  more  practically-useful 
working  or  parochial  clergy,  still  farther  intensified  that  inquir- 


32  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  IV. 

ing  spirit  which  prompted  the  people  to  refuse  obedience  to  the 
temporal  as  well  as  spiritual  authority  of  the  Roman  See,  and 
paved  the  way  for  an  ultimate  rejection  of  the  Papal  yoke. 

55.  The  date  of  Chaucer's  birth  is  uncertain.     By  some  it  is 
fixed  at  1328,  by  others  at  1340,  which  latter  date  would  harmo- 
nize better  with  certain  known  facts  in  his  life.    If,  however,  the 
first  be  correct,  the  poet's  career  almost  coincides,  in  its  com- 
mencement, with  the   splendid  administration  of  Edward  III., 
and  comprehends  also  the  short  and  disastrous  reign  of  Richard 
II.,  which  he  survived  for  about  a  year.    He  is  supposed  to  have 
been  sprung  of  wealthy,  though  not  illustrious  parentage,  and 
must  have  been  of  gentle  blood;    his  surname,   which  is  the 
French  Chaussicr,  evidently  pointing  at  a  continental  —  at  that 
period  equivalent,  in  a  certain  degree,  to  an  aristocratic  —  origin. 
Besides  this,  we  have  distinct  proof,  not  only  in  the  fact  of  his 
having.been  "  armed  a  knight,"  but  also  in  the  honorable  posts 
which  he  held,  that  he  must  have  belonged  to  the  higher  sphere 
of  society.    His  marriage  too  (which  took  place  about  1360)  with 
Philippa  Roet,  one  of  the  maids  of  honor  in  attendance  upon 
Queen  Philippa,  and  the  younger  daughter  of  Sir  Payne  Roet, 
a  knight  who  came  from  Hainault  in  the  queen's  train,  would 
still  further  tend  to  confirm  this  supposition. 

56.  Chaucer  speaks  of  London  as  his  birthplace  in  the  Testa- 
ment of  Love.     In  his  Court  of  Love  he  speaks  of  himself  under 
the  name  and  character  of  "  Philogenet  —  of  Cambridge,  Clerk ;  " 
but  this  hardly  proves  that  he  was  educated  at  Cambridge.    Dur- 
ing the  years  1356-9  he  was  in  the  service  of  Elizabeth  de  Burgh, 
wife  of  Lionel  Duke  of  Clarence,  probably  as  page.     He   was 
taken  prisoner  in  1359  by  the  French,  at  the  siege  of  Rhetiers, 
and  being  ransomed,  according  to  the  custom  of  those  times,  was 
enabled  to  return  to  England  in  1360. 

57.  He  next  appears,  in  1367,  as  one  of  the  "  valets  of  the  king's 
chamber,"  and  writs  are  addressed  to  him  under  the  then  hon- 
orable   designation,    "  dilectus   valettus    nostcr."      His   official 
career  appears  to  have  been  active  and  even  distinguished :  he 
enjoyed,  during  a  long  period,  various  profitable  offices,  having 
been  for  twelve  years  comptroller  of  the  customs  and  subsidy  of 
wools,  skins,  and  tanned  hides  in  the  port  of  London ;  and  he 
seems  also  to  have  been  occasionally  employed  in  diplomatic 
negotiations.     Thus,  he  was  joined  with  two  citizens  of  Genoa 
in  a  commission  to  Italy  in  1373,  on  which  occasion  he  is  sup- 


A.  D.  1340-1400.  CHAUCER.  33 

posed  to  have  made  the  acquaintance  of  Petrarch,  then  the  most 
illustrious  man  of  letters  in  Europe.  Partly  in  consequence  of 
his  marriage  with  Philippa  de  Roet,  whose  sister,  Catherine 
Swynford,  was  first  the  mistress  and  afterwards  the  wife  of 
John  of  Gaunt,  and  partly  perhaps  from  sharing  in  some  of  the 
political  and  religious  opinions  of  that  powerful  prince,  Chaucer 
was  identified,  to  a  considerable  degree,  both  with  the  household 
and  party  of  the  Duke  of  Lancaster;  and  his  Complaynte  of  the 
Blacke  Knyght,  his  Dream,  and  his  Boke  of  the  Ditc/iesse  were 
suggested  to  him,  the  first  by  the  courtship  of  the  duke  and  the 
duchess  Blanche,  the  second  by  their  marriage,  and  the  third  by 
her  death  in  1369.  One  of  the  most  interesting  particulars  of 
his  life  was  his  election  as  representative  for  Kent  in  the  Par- 
liament of  1386,  which  was  dissolved  in  December  of  the  same 
year.  During  the  next  four  years  he  sustained  a  series  of  dis- 
heartening reverses.  He  was  dismissed  from  all  his  offices  in 
1386;  lost  his  wife  in  the  following  year;  and  if  there  be  any 
truth  in  the  notion  that  the  Testament  of  Love  is  an  allegorical 
description  of  a  chapter  in  the  poet's  own  life,  he  was  obliged 
to  submit  to  the  bitterest  humiliations  about  the  same  time. 

58.  In  1389,  however,  he  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  clerk 
of  the  king's  works,  which  he  held  for  only  about  two  years; 
and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that,  though  his  pecuniary  cir- 
cumstances must  have  been,  during  a  g^eat  part  of  his  life,  in 
proportion  to  the  position  he  occupied  in  the  state  and  in  society, 
his  last  days  were  more  or  less  clouded  by  embarrassment.     His 
death  took  place  at  Westminster  on  the  25th  of  October,  1400; 
and  the  house  in  which  this  event  occurred  was  afterwards  re- 
moved to  make  room  for  the  chapel  of  Henry  VII. 

59.  If  we  may  judge  from  an  ancient  and  probably  authentic 
portrait  of  Chaucer,  attributed  to  his  contemporary  and  fellow- 
poet  Occleve,  as  well  as  from  a  curious  and  beautiful  miniature 
introduced,  according  to  the  fashion  of  those  times,  into  one  of 
the  most  valuable  manuscript  copies  of  his  works,  our  great  poet 
appears  to  have  been  a  man  of  pleasing  and  acute,  though  some- 
what meditative  and  abstracted  countenance,  and  to  have  grown 
somewhat  corpulent  towards  the  end  of  his  life,  at  which  time 
the   Canterbury  Tales  were  written.  (13*}     When,  in  the  Pro- 
logue to  The  Rime  of  Sir  Thopas,  Chaucer  is  in  his  turn  called 
upon  by  the  host  of  the  Tabard,  himself  represented  as  a  "  large 
man,"  and  a  '•  faire  burgess,"  to  contribute  his  story  to  the 

3 


84  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  IV. 

amusement  of  the  pilgrims,  he  is  rallied  by  honest  Harry  Bailey 
on  his  corpulency,  as  well  as  on-  his  studious  and  abstracted  air : 

"  What  man  art  thou  ?  "  quod  he ; 
"Thou  lokest  as  thou  woldest  fynde  an  hare; 
For  ever  on  the  ground  I  se  the  stare. 
Approach  nere,  and  lokc  merrily. 
ISow  ware  you,  sires,  and  let  this  man  have  space, 
lie  in  the  wast  is  schapc  as  well  as  I: 
This  were  a  popet  in  an  arm  to  embrace, 
For  any  woimnan,  srnal  and  fair  of  face. 
lie  seineth  elvisch  by  his  countenance, 
For  unto  no  wight  doth  he  daliaunce." 

60.  The  literary  and  intellectual  career  of  Chaucer  divides 
itself  naturally  into  two  periods,  closely  corresponding  with  the 
two  great  social  and  political  tendencies  which  meet  in  the  four- 
teenth century.  His  earlier  productions  bear  the  stamp  and 
character  of  the  Chivalric,  his  later  and  more  original  creations 
of  the  Renaissance  literatiire.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  the 
poet's  visits  to  Italy,  then  the  fountain  and  centre  of  the  great 
literary  revolution,  brought  him  into  contact  with  the  works  and 
the  men  by  whose  example  the  change  in  the  taste  of  Europe 
was  brought  about.  The  religious  element,  too,  enters  largely 
into  the  character  of  his  writings,  though  it  is  difficult  to  ascer- 
tain how  far  the  poet  sympathized  with  the  bold  doctrines  of 
Wiclif,  who,  like  himself,  was  favored  and  protected  by  John  of 
Gaunt,  fourth  son  of  Edward  III.  It  is,  however,  probable,  that 
though  he  sympathized  —  as  is  shown  by  a  thousand  satirical 
passages  in  his  poems  —  with  Wicklif's  hostility  to  the  monastic 
orders  and  abhorrence  of  the  corruptions  of  the  clergy  and  the 
haughty  claims  of  papal  supremacy,  the  poet  did  not  share  in 
the  theological  opinions  of  the  reformer,  then  regarded  as  a 
dangerous  heresiarch.  He  probably  remained  faithful  to  the 
creed  of  Catholicism,  while  attacking  with  irresistible  satire  the 
abuses  of  the  Catholic  ecclesiastical  administration. 

61.  On  a  rough  general  inspection  of  the  longer  works  which 
compose  the  rather  voluminous  collection  of  Chaucer's  poetry, 
it  will  be  found  that  about  eight  of  them  are  to  be  ascribed  to  a 
direct  or  indirect  imitation  of  purely  Romance  models,  while 
three  fall  naturally  under  the  category  of  the  Italian  or  Renais- 
sance type.  Of  the  former  class  the  principal  are  the  Romaunt 
of  the  Rose,  the  Court  of  Love,  the  Assembly  of  Fowls,  the  Cuckoo 
and  the  Nightingale,  the  Flower  and  the  Leaf,  Chaucer  s  Dream, 


A.  D.  1340-1400.  CHAUCER.  35 

the  Boke  of  the  DucJtesse,  and  the  House  of  Fame.  Under  the 
latter  we  must  range  the  Legend  of  Good  Women,  Troilus  and 
Crc&eide,  Anclyda  and  Arcyte,  and  above  all  the  Canterbury 
Tales.  (13} 

62.  (i.)  The  Romaunt  of  the  Rose  is  a  translation  of  the  fa- 
mous French  allegory  Le  Roman  de  la  Rose,  which  forms  the  ear- 
liest monument  of  French  literature  in  the  thirteenth  century. 
The  original  is  of  inordinate  length,  containing,  even  in  the  un- 
finished state  in  which  it  was  left,  twenty-two  thousand  verses. 
It  was  begun  by  Guillaume  de  Lorris,  who  completed  about  five 
thousand  lines ;  and  was  continued  after  his  death  by  the  witty 
and  sarcastic  Jean  de  Meum  :  the  former  of  which  authors  died 
in  1260.,  and  the  latter  probably  about  1318.  According  to  the 
almost  universal  practice  of  the  old  Romance  poets,  the  story 
is  put  into  the  form  of  a  dream  or  vision.  Lover,  the  hero,  is 
alternately  aided  and  obstructed  in  his  undertakings  :  the  prin- 
cipal of  which  is  that  of  culling  the  enchanted  rose  which  gives 
its  name  to  the  poem,  by  a  multitude  of  beneficent  or  malignant 
personages,  such  as  Bel-Accueil,  Faux-Semblant,  Danger,  Male- 
Bouche,  and  Constrained-Abstinence.  Chaucer's  translation, 
which  is  in  the  octosyllabic  Trouvere  measure  of  the  original, 
and  consists  of  seven  thousand  six  hundred  and  ninety-nine 
verses,  comprehends  the  whole  of  the  portion  written  by  Lorris, 
together  with  about  a  sixth  part  of  Meun's  continuation ;  the 
portions  omitted  having  either  never  been  translated  by  the  Eng- 
lish poet  in  consequence  of  his  dislike  of  the  immoral  and  anti- 
religious  tendency  of  which  they  were  accused,  or  left  out  by  the 
copyist  from  the  early  English  manuscripts.  The  translation 
gives  incessant  proof  of  Chaucer's  remarkable  ear  for  metrical 
harmony,  and  also  of  his  picturesque  imagination ;  for  though 
in  many  places  he  has  followed  his  original  with  scrupulous 
fidelity,  he  not  unfrequently  adds  vigorous  touches  of  his  own. 
The  most  remarkable  illustration  of  this  is  the  description  of 
the  character  of  a  true  gentleman,  not  a  hint  of  which  can  be 
found  in  the  original.* 

G3.  (ii.)  The  Court  of  Love  is  written  in  the  name  of  "  Phi- 
logenet  of  Cambridge,"  clerk  (or  student),  who  is  directed  by 
Mercury  to  appear  at  the  Court  of  Venus.  The  above  designa- 
tion has  induced  some  critics  to  suppose  that  the  poet  meant 


36  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  IV. 

under  it  to  indicate  himself,  and  they  have  drawn  from  it  a  most 
unfounded  supposition  that  Chaucer  had  studied  at  Cambridge. 
The  poet  proceeds  to  give  a  description  of  the  Castle  of  Love, 
where  Admetus  and  Alcestis  preside  as  king  and  queen.  Phi- 
logenet  is  then  conducted  by  Philobone  to  the  Temple,  where  he 
sees  Venus  and  Cupid;  and  where  the  oath  of  allegiance  and 
obedience  to  the  twenty  commandments  of  Love  is  administered 
to  the  faithful.  The  hero  is  then  presented  to  the  Lady  Rosial, 
•with  whom,  in  strict  accordance  with  Provencal  poetical  custom, 
he  has  become  enamoured  in  a  dream.  The  most  curious  part  of 
the  poem  is  the  celebration  of  the  grand  festival  of  Love  on  May- 
day, when  an  exact  parody  of  the  Catholic  Matin  service  for 
Trinity  Sunday  is  chanted  by  various  birds  in  honor  of  the  God 
of  Love. 

G4.  (iii.)  In  the  Assembly  of  Fowls  we  have  a  poem  not  very 
dissimilar  in  form  and  versification  to  the  preceding.  The  sub- 
ject is  a  debate  carried  on  before  the  Parliament  of  Birds  to  decide 
the  claims  of  three  eagles  for  the  possession  of  a  beautiful  formel 
(female  or  hen),  by  which  the  Lady  Blanche  of  Lancaster  is 
probably  intended. 

65.  (iv.)  The  Cttckoiv  and  the  Nightingale,  though  of  no  great 
length,  is  one  of  the  most  charming  among  this  class  of  Chaucer's 
productions :  it  describes  a  controversy  between  the  two  birds, 
the  former  of  which  was  among  the  poets  and  allegorists  of  the 
Middle  Ages  the  emblem  of  profligate  celibacy,  while  the  Night- 
ingale was  the  type  of  constant  and  virtuous  conjugal  love.  In 
this  poem  we  meet  with  a  striking  example  of  that  exquisite  sen- 
sibility to  the  sweetness  of  external  nature,  and  in  particular  to 
the  song  of  birds,  which  was  possessed  by  Chaucer  in  a  higher 
degree,  perhaps,  than  by  any  other  poet  in  the  world.* 

GO.  (v.)  The  Flower  and  the  Leaf  is  an  allegory,  probably 
written  to  celebrate  the  marriage  of  Philippa,  John  of  Gaunt's 
daughter,  with  John,  king  of  Portugal.  A  lady,  unable  to  sleep, 
wanders  out  into  a  forest  on  a  spring  morning  —  an  opening  or 
mine  en  scene  which  often  recurs  in  poems  of  this  age  —  and  seat- 
ing herself  in  a  delicious  arbor,  listens  to  the  alternate  song  of 
the  goldfinch  and  the  nightingale.  Her  reverie  is  suddenly  in- 
terrupted by  the  approach  of  a  band  of  ladies  clothed  in  white, 
and  garlanded  with  laurel,  agnus-castus,  and  woodbine.  These 

*  Sec  the  inimitable  passage  from  line  63  to  83. 


A.  B.  1340-1400.  CHAUCER.  37 

accompany  their  queen  in  singing  a  roundel,  and  are  in  their 
turn  interrupted  by  the  sound  of  trumpets  and  by  the  appearance 
of  nine  armed  knights,  followed  by  a  splendid  train  of  cavaliers 
and  ladies.  These  joust  for  an  hour,  and  then  advance  to  the 
first  company,  and  each  knight  leads  a  lady  to  a  laurel  to  which 
they  make  an  obeisance.  Another  troop  of  ladies  now  ap- 
proaches, habited  in  green  and  led  by  a  queen,  who  do  rever- 
ence to  a  tuft  of  flowers,  while  the  leader  sings  a  "  bargaret,"  or 
pastoral  song,  in  honor  of  the  daisy,  "  si  douce  est  la  Mar- 
guerite." The  sports  are  broken  off,  first  by  the  heat  of  the  sun 
which  withers  all  the  flowers,  and  afterwards  by  a  violent  storm 
of  thunder  and  rain,  in  which  the  knights  and  ladies  in  green 
are  pitifully  drenched ;  while  the  white  company  shelter  them- 
selves under  the  laurel.  Then  follows  the  explanation  of  the  al- 
legory: the  white  queen  and  her  party  represent  chastity;  the 
knights  the  Nine  Worthies ;  the  cavaliers  crowned  with  laurel 
the  Knights  of  the  Round  Table,  the  Peers  of  Charlemagne,  and 
the  Knights  of  the  Garter,  to  which  illustrious  order,  then  re- 
cently founded,  the  poet  wished  to  pay  a  compliment.  The 
Queen  and  ladies  in  green  represent  Flora  and  the  followers  of 
sloth  and  idleness.  In  general  the  flower  typifies  vain  pleasure, 
the  leaf,  virtue  and  industry;  the  former  being  "  a  thing  fading 
with  every  blast,"  while  the  latter  "  abides  with  the  root,  not- 
withstanding the  frosts  and  winter  storms."  The  poem  is 
written  in  the  seven-lined  stanza,  and  contains  many  curious 
and  beautiful  passages. 

67.  (vi.,  vii.)  The  two  poems  entitled  Chaucer's  Dream  and 
the  Book  of  the  Duchess  are  both  allegorical ;  and  allude,  though 
sometimes  rather  obscurely  as  regards  details,  the  first  to  the 
courtship  and  marriage,  the  second  to  the  grief,  of  John  of  Gaunt 
at  the  loss  of  his  first  wife.     There  may  be  traced  in  the  Dream 
allusions  to  Chaucer's  own  courtship  and  marriage,  which  took 
place  about  1360. 

68.  (viii.)  For  its  extraordinary  union  of  brilliant  description 
with  learning  and  humor,  the  poem  of  the  Hftise  of  Fame  is 
sufficient  of   itself  to  stamp    Chaucer's  reputation.     Under  the 
fashionable  form  of  a  dream  or  vision,  it  gives  us   a  vivid  and 
striking  picture  of  the  Temple  of  Glory,  crowded  with  aspirants 
for  immortal  renown,  and  adorned  with  myriad  statues  of  great 
poets  and  historians,  and  the  House  of  Rumor,  thronged  with 
pilgrims,  pardoners,  sailors,   and  other  retailers  of  wonderful 


38  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP. IV. 

reports.  The  Temple,  though  originally  borrowed  from  the 
Metamorphoses  of  Ovid,  exhibits  in  its  architecture  and  adorn- 
ment that  strange  mixture  of  pagan  antiquity  with  the  Gothic 
details  of  mediaeval  cathedrals,  that  strikes  us  in  the  poetry  and 
in  the  illuminated  MSS.  of  the  fourteenth  century.  In  richness 
of  fancy  it  far  surpasses  Pope's  imitation,  The  Temple  of  Fame. 

€9.  (ix.)  The  Legend  of  Good  Women  is  supposed,  from  many 
circumstances,  to  have  been  one  of  the  latest  of  Chaucer's  com- 
positions ;  and  to  have  been  written  as  a  kind  of  amende  honora- 
ble or  recantation  for  his  unfavorable  pictures  of  female  char- 
acter. Though  the  matter  is  closely  translated,  for  the  most 
part,  from  the  Heroides  of  Ovid,  the  coloring  given  to  the  sto- 
ries is  entirely  Catholic  and  mediaeval;  and  Dido,  Cleopatra, 
and  Medea  are  regarded  as  the  Martyrs  of  Saint  Venus  and 
Saint  Cupid.  The  poet's  original  intention  was  to  compose  the 
legends  of  nineteen  celebrated  victims  of  the  tender  passion ; 
but  the  work  having  been  left  incomplete,  we  possess  only  those 
of  Cleopatra,  Thisbe,  Dido,  Hypsipyle,  and  Medea,  Lucretia, 
Ariadne,  Philomela,  Phillis,  and  Hypermnestra.  The  poem  is 
in  ten-syllable  heroic  couplets,  the  rhymed  heroic  measure,  and 
exhibits  a  consummate  mastery  over  the  resources  of  the  English 
language  and  prosody;  and  many  striking  passages  of  descrip- 
tion are  interpolated  by  Chaucer.  A  few  droll  anachronisms 
also  maybe  noted,  as  the  introduction  of  cannon  at  the  Battle 
of  Actium. 

70.  (x.)  The  poem  which  the  generations  contemporary  with, 
or  succeeding  to,  the  age  of  Chaucer  placed  nearest  to  the  level 
of  the  Canterbury  Talcs,  was  unquestionably  the  Troilus  and 
Crcseide  •  for  which  work  the  poet  indubitably  drew  his  mate- 
rials from  Boccacio's  poem  entitled  Filostrato.  The  story  itself, 
which  was  extremely  popular  in  the  Middle  Ages  and  later, 
iShakspeare  himself  having  dramatized  it,  has  been  traced  to 
Guido  di  Colonna,  and  to  the  mysterious  book  entitled  Trophc 
of  the  equally  mysterious  author  Lollius,  so  often  quoted  in 
Chaucer's  age,  and  respecting  whom  all  is  obscure  and  enigmat- 
ical.* Some  of  the  names  and  personages  of  the  story,  as 
Cryscida  (Chryseis),  Troilus,  Pandarus,  Diomedc,  and  Priam, 
are  obviously  borrowed  from  the  Iliad;  but  their  relative  posi- 

*  In  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Henry  Morley  this  mysterioui  personage  is  none  other  than  Boccacio 
himself. 


A.  D.  1340-1400.  CHAUCER.  39 

tions  and  personality  have  been  most  strangely  altered;  and  the 
principal  action  of  the  poem,  being  the  passionate  love,of  Troi- 
lus  for  his  cousin,  her  ultimate  infidelity,  and  the  immoral  sub- 
serviency of  Pandarus,  bear  the  stamp  of  mediaeval  society,  and 
have  no  resemblance  whatever  to  the  incidents  and  feelings  of 
the  heroic  age.  Chaucer  has  frequently  adhered  to  the  text  of 
the  Filostrato,  and  has  adopted  the  musical  and  flo\ving  Italian 
stanza  of  seven  lines;  but  in  the  conduct  of  the  story  he  has 
shown  himself  far  superior  to  his  original,  the  characters  of 
Troilus,  Pandarus,  and  Creseide  in  the  Filostrato,  contrasting 
very  unfavorably  with  the  pure,  noble,  and  ideal  personages  of 
the  English  poet,  whose  morality  indeed  is  far  higher  and  more 
refined  than  that  of  his  great  Florentine  contemporary. 

71.  Chaucer's  greatest  and  most  original  work  is,  beyond  all 
comparison,  the   Canterbury  Tales.  (13*)     It  is  in  this  that  he 
has  poured  forth  in  inexhaustible  abundance  all  his  stores  of  wit, 
humor,  pathos,  splendor,  and  knowledge  of  humanity:  it  is  this 
which  will  place  him,  till  the  remotest  posterity,  in  the  first  rank 
among  poets  and  character-painters. 

72.  The  plan  of  this  great  work  is  singularly  happy,  enabling 
the  poet  to  give  us,  first,  a  collection  of  admirable  daguerreo- 
types of  the  various  classes  of  English  society,  and  then  to  place 
in  the  mouths  of  these  persons  a  series  of  separate  tales  highly 
beautiful  when  regarded  as  compositions  and  judged  on  their 
own  independent  merits,  but  deriving-an  infinitely  higher  inter- 
est and  appropriateness  from  the  way  in  which  they  harmonize 
with  their  respective  narrators.     The  poet  informs  us,  after  giv- 
ing a  brief  but  picturesque  description  of   spring,  that  being 
about  to  make  a  pilgrimage  from  London  to  the  shrine  of  St. 
Thomas  a  Becket  in  the  cathedral  of  Canterbury,  he  passes  the 
night  previous  to  his  departure  at  the  hostelry  of  the  Tabard  in 
Southwark.     While  at  the  inn  the  hostelry  is  filled  by  a  crowd 
of  pilgrims  bound  to  the  same  destination :  — 

"  In  Southwerk  at  the  Tabard  as  I  lay, 
Redy  to  wcnden  on  my  pilgrimage 
To  Canterbury  with  ful  devout  cornge, 
At  night  was  come  into  that  hostclrie. 
Wei  nyiie  and  twenty  in  a  companye  * 
Of  soiidry  folk,  by  aventure  i-falle 
In  felawsehipc,  and  piigryms  were  thei  alle, 
That  toward  Canterbury  woldeu  ryde." 


*  But  in  his  subsequent  enumeration  (see  next  page),  Chaucer  counts  thirty  persons. 


40  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  IV. 

73.  This  goodly  company,  assembled  in  a  manner  so  natural 
in  those  times  of  pilgrimages  and  of  difficult  and  dangerous 
roads,  agree  to  travel  in  a  body ;  and  at  supper  the  host  of  the 
Tabard,  a  jolly  and  sociable  personage,  proposes  to  accompany 
the  party  and  serve  as  a  guide ;  and  at  the  same  time  suggests 
that  they  may  much  enliven  the  tedium  of  their  journey  by  re- 
lating stories  as  they  ride.  He  is  to  be  accepted  by  the  whole 
society  as  a  kind  of  judge  or  moderator,  by  whose  decisions  ev- 
ery one  is  to  abide.  As  the  journey  to  Canterbury  occupies  one 
day,  and  the  return  another,  the  plan  of  the  whole  work,  had 
Chaucer  completed  it,  would  Have  comprised  the  adventures  on 
the  outward  journey,  the  arrival  at  Canterbury,  a  description,  in 
all  probability,  of  the  splendid  religious  ceremonies  and  the 
visits  to  the  numerous  shrines  and  relics  in  the  Cathedral,  the 
return  to  London,  the  farewell  supper  at  the  Tabard,  and  disso- 
lution of  the  pleasant  company,  which  would  separate  as  natu- 
rally as  they  had  assembled.  Harry  Bailey  proposes  that  each 
pilgrim  should  relate  two  tales  on  the  journey  out,  and  two  more 
on  the  way  home ;  and  that,  on  the  return  of  the  party  to  Lon- 
don, he  who  should  be  adjudged  to  have  related  the  best  and 
most  amusing  story  should  sup  at  the  common  cost.  Such  is 
the  setting,  or  framework,  in  which  the  separate  tales  are  insert- 
ed ;  and  the  tales  themselves  are  admirably  in  accordance  with 
the  characters  of  the  persons  who  relate  them,  and  the  remarks 
and  criticisms  to  which  they  give  rise  are  no  less  humorous  and 
natural,  some  of  the  stories  suggesting  others,  just  as  would 
happen  in  real  life  under  the  same  circumstances.  The  pilgrims 
are  persons  of  almost  all  ranks  and  classes  of  society;  and  in 
the  inimitable  description  of  their  manners,  persons,  dress, 
horses,  &c.,  with  which  the  poet  has  introduced  them,  we  behold 
a  vast  and  minute  portrait  gallery  of  the  social  state  of  England 
in  the  fourteenth  century.  They  are — (i.)  A  Knight;  (2.)  A 
Squire;  (3.)  A  Yeoman,  or  military  retainer  of  the  class  of  the 
free  peasants,  who,  in  the  quality  of  an  archer,  was  bound  to 
accompany  his  feudal  lord  to  war;  (4.)  A  Prioress,  a  lady  of 
rank,  superior  of  a  nunnery;  (5,  6,  7,  8.)  A  Nun  and  three 
Priests,  in  attendance  upon  this  lady;  (9.)  A  Monk,  a  person 
represented  as  handsomely  dressed  and  equipped,  and  passion- 
ately fond  of  hunting  and  good  cheer;  (10.)  A  Friar,  or  Mendi- 
cant Monk;  (u.)  A  Merchant;  (12.)  A  Clerk,  or  Student  of 
the  University  of  Oxford ;  (13.)  A  Serjeant  of  the  Law;  (14.)  A 


A.  D.  1340-1400.  CHAUCER.  41' 

Franklin  or  rich  country  gentleman;  (15,  16,  17,  18,  19.)  Five 
wealthy  burgesses  or  tradesmen,  a  Haberdasher,  or  dealer  in  silk 
and  cloth,  a  Carpenter,  a  Weaver,  a  Dyer,  and  a  Tapisser,  or 
maker  of  carpets  and  hangings;  (20.)  A  Cook,  or  rather  what 
in  old  French  is  called  a  rdtissettr,  i.  e.,  the  keeper  of  a  cook's- 
shop ;  (21.)  A  Shipman,  the  master  of  a  trading  vessel;  (22.)  A 
Doctor  of  Physic;  (23.)  A  Wife  of  Bath,  a  rich  cloth-manufac- 
turer; (24.)  A  Parson,  or  secular  parish  priest;  (25.)  A  Plough- 
man, the  brother  of  the  preceding  personage;  (26.)  A  Miller; 
(27.)  A  Manciple,  or  steward  of  a  college  or  religious  house; 
(28.)  A  Reeve,  bailiff  or  intendant  of  the  estates  of  some  wealthy 
landowner;  (29.)  ASompnour,  or  Sumner,  an  officer  in  the  then 
formidable  ecclesiastical  courts,  whose  duty  was  to  summon  or 
cite  before  the  spiritual  jurisdiction  those  who  had  offended 
against  the  canon  laws;  (30.)  A  Pardoner,  or  vendor  of  Indul- 
gences from  Rome.  To  these  thirty  persons  must  be  added 
Chaucer  himself,  and  the  Host  of  the  Tabard,  making  in  all 
thirty- two. 

74.  Now,  if  each  of  these  pilgrims  had  related  four  tales,  viz., 
two  on  the  journey  to  Canterbury,  and  two  on  their  return,  the 
work  would  have  contained  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  sto- 
ries, independently  of  the  subordinate  incidents  and  conversa- 
tions. In  reality,  however,  the  pilgrims  do  not  arrive  at  their 
destination,  and  there  are  many  evidences  of  confusion  in  the 
tales  which  Chaucer  has  given  us,  leading  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  materials  were  not  only  incomplete,  but  left  in  an  unarranged 
state  by  the  poet.  The  stories  that  we  possess  are  twenty-five 
in  number,  —  three  of  which,  the  Cook's,  the  Squire's,  and  Chau- 
cer's first,  are  "  left  half,"  or  less  than  half,  "  told,"  and  one, 
Gamelyn,*  is  either  entirely  spurious  or  written  by  the  poet  for 
a  different  purpose.  Thus  we  have  only  twenty-one  complete 
tales,  so  fhat  eleven  of  the  personages  are  left  silent.  Besides 
a  Canon  and  his  Yeoman  unexpectedly  join  the  cavalcade  dur- 
ing the  journey,  but  it  is  uncertain  whether  this  episode,  which 
was  probably  an  afterthought  of  the  poet,  takes  place  on  the 
journey  to  or  from  Canterbury.  The  Canon,  who  is  represented 
as  an  Alchemist,  half  swindler  and  half  dupe,  is  driven  away 
from  the  company  by  shame  at  his  attendant's  indiscreet  dis- 
closures ;  and  the  latter,  remaining  with  the  pilgrims,  relates  a 

*  The  Cook's  Tale  of  Gamelyn,  if  really  written  by  Chaucer,  was  perhaps  intended  to  be  relat- 
ed on  the  journey  home. 


42  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  IV. 

most  amusing  story  of  the  villanous  artifices  of  the  charlatans 
who  pretended  to  possess  the  Great  Arcanum.  The  stories  nar- 
rated by  the  pilgrims  are  admirably  introduced  by  what  the 
author  calls  "  prologues,"  consisting  either  of  remarks  and  criti- 
cisms on  the  preceding  tale,  and  which  naturally  suggest  what 
is  to  follow,  and  of  the  incidents  of  the  journey  itself.  The 
Tales  are  all  in  verse,  with  the  exception  of  two,  that  of  the 
Parson,  and  Chaucer's  second  narrative,  the  allegorical  story  of 
Melibeus  and  his  wife  Prudence.  Those  in  verse  exhibit  an  im- 
mense variety  of  metrical  forms,  all  of  which  Chaucer  handles 
with  consummate  ease  and  dexterity;  indeed,  it  may  be  boldly 
affirmed  that  no  English  poet  whatever  is  more  exquisitely  melo- 
dious than  he  :  and  the  nature  of  the  versification  will  often  assist 
us  in  tracing  the  sources  from  whence  Chaucer  derived  or  adapt- 
ed his  materials.  Indeed  he  appears  in  no  single  demonstrable 
instance  to  have  taken  the  trouble  to  invent  the  intrigue  or  sub- 
ject-matter of  any  of  his  stories,  but  to  have  freely  borrowed 
them  either  from  the  multitudinous  fabliaux  of  the  Provencal 
poets,  the  legends  of  the  mediaeval  chroniclers,  or  the  immense 
storehouse  of  the  Gesta  Romanorum,  and  the  rich  treasury  of 
the  early  Italian  writers,  Dante,  Petrarch,  and  Boccacio. 

75.  The  Tales  themselves  may  be  roughly  divided  into  the  two 
great  classes  of  serious,  tragic,  or  pathetic,  and  comic  or  hu- 
morous ;  in  both  styles  Chaucer  has  seldom  been  equalled,  and 
assuredly  never  surpassed.  The  finest  of  the  elevated  and  pa- 
thetic stories  are  the  Knighfs  Tale  —  the  longest  of  them  all,  in 
which  is  related  the  adventure  of  Palamon  and  Arcite;  —  the 
Squire  s  Tale,  a  wild  half-Oriental  story  of  love,  chivalry,  and 
enchantment,  the  action  of  which  goes  on  "  at  Sarray  (Bakhtchi- 
Sarai)  in  the  lond  of  Tartary ;  "  the  Man  of  Law's  Tale,  the 
beautiful  and  pathetic  story  of  distance ;  the  Prioress's  Talc, 
the  charming  legend  of  "  litel  Hew  of  Lincoln,"  the  Christian 
child  murdered  by  the  Jews  for  so  perseveringly  singing  his  hymn 
to  the  Virgin ;  *  and  above  all  the  Clerk  of  Oxford's  Talc,  per- 
haps the  most  beautiful  pathetic  narration  in  the  whole  range  of 
literature.  This,  the  story  of  Griselda,  the  model  and  heroine 
of  wifely  patience  and  obedience,  is  the  crown  and  pearl  of  all 
the  serious  and  pathetic  narratives,  as  the  Knight's  Tale  is  the 

*  Though  the  scene  of  this  tale  is  laid  in  Asia  yet  Die  principal  incidents  of  the  vrcll-knowa 
English,  legend  are  retained. 


A.  D.  1340-1400.  CHAUCER.  43 

masterpiece  among  the  descriptions  of  love  and  chivalric  mag- 
nificence. 

76.  We  will  rapidly  note  the  sources  from  which,  as  far  as  can 
be  ascertained  at  present,  Chaucer  derived  the  subjects  of  the 
narratives   above  particularized.      The  Knight's   Tale  is  freely 
borrowed  from  the  Thcseida  of  Boccacio,  many  of  th£  incidents 
of  the  latter  being  themselves  taken  from  the  Thebais  of  Statins. 
Though  the  action   and  personages  of  this  noble  story  are  as- 
signed to  classical  antiquity,  it  is  needless  to  say  that  the  senti- 
ments,  manners,    and  feelings   of  the   persons    introduced   are 
those  of  chivalric  Europe;  the  "  Two  Noble  Kinsmen,"  Palamon 
and  Arcite,  being  the  purest  ideal  types  of  the  knightly  charac- 
ter, and  the  decision  of  their  claims  to  the  hand  of  Emilie  by  a 
combat  in  champ  clos,  an   incident  completely  alien  from   the 
habits  of  the  heroic  age.     The  Squire's  Tale  bears  evident  marks 
of  Oriental  origin ;  but  whether  it  be  a  legend  directly  derived 
from  Eastern  literature,  or  received  by  Chaucer  after  having  fil- 
tered through  a  Romance  version,  is  now  uncertain.     It  is  equal 
to  the  preceding  story  in  splendor  and  variety  of  incident  and 
word-painting,  but  far  inferior  in  depth  of  pathos  and  ideal  ele- 
vation of  sentiment;  yet  it  was  by  the  Squire's  Tale  that  Milton 
characterized  Chaucer  in  that  inimitable  passage  of  the  Penseroso 
where  he  evokes  the  recollections  of  the  great  poet :  — 

"  And  call  up  him  that  left  half-told 
The  story  of  Cambuscan  bold, 
Of  Cambal,  and  of  Algarsife, 
Aud  who  had  Cannce  to  wife 
That  owned  the  virtuous  ring  and  glass; 
And  of  the  wondrous  horse  of  hfass 
On  which  the  Tartar  king  did  ride." 

The  Man  of  Laiv's  Tale  is  taken  with  little  variation  from  Gow- 
er's  voluminous  poem  "  Confessio  Amantis"  the  incidents  of 
Gower's  narrative  being  in  their  turn  traceable  to  a  multitude 
of  romances. 

77.  The  pedigree  of  the  most  pathetic  of  Chaucer's  stories, 
that  of  Patient  Griselda,  narrated  by  the  clerk  of  Oxford,  is  trace- 
able to  Petrarch's  Latin  translation  of  the  last  tale  in  Boccacio's 
Decameron,  which  Petrarch  sent  to  Boccacio  in   1373,  the  year 
before  his  own  death. 

78.  The  finest  of  Chaucer's  comic  and  humorous  stories  are 
those  of  the  Miller,  the  Reeve,  the  Sompnour,  the  Canon's  Yeo- 


44  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  IV. 

man,  and  the  Nun's  Priest.  Though  all  of  these  are  excellent, 
the  three  best  are  the  Miller's,  the  Reeve's,  and  the  Sompnour's; 
and  among  these  last  it  is  difficult  to  give  the  palm  of  drollery, 
acute  painting  of  human  nature,  and  exquisite  ingenuity  of  inci- 
dent. It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  the  comic  stories  turn  upon 
events  of  ft  kind  which  the  refinement  of  modern  manners  ren- 
ders it  impossible  to  analyze ;  but  it  should  be  remembered  that 
society  in  Chaucer's  day,  though  perhaps  not  less  moral  in 
reality,  was  far  more  outspoken  and  simple,  and  permitted  and 
enjoyed  allusions  which  have  been  proscribed  by  the  more  pre- 
cise delicacy  of  later  ages.  The  first  of  "these  irresistible  droll- 
eries is  probably  the  adaptation  to  English  life  —  for  the  scene  is 
laid  at  Oxford  —  of  some  old  fabliau;  the  Reeve's  Tale  may  be 
found  in  substance  in  the  6th  novel  of  the  Ninth  Day  of  the 
Decameron :  the  Sompnour's  Tale,  though  probably  from  a 
mediaeval  source,  has  not  hitherto  been  traced.  The  admirable 
•wit,  hunior,  and  learning,  with  which  in  the  Canon's  Teaman's 
Tale  Chaucer  exposes  the  rascalities  of  the  pretenders  to  alchem- 
ical knowledge,  may  have  been  derived  from  his  own  experience 
of  the  arts  of  these  swindlers.  The  tale  may  be  compared  with 
Ben  Jonson's  comedy  of  the  Alchemist.  The  tale  assigned  to 
the  Nun's  Priest  is  an  exceedingly  humorous  apologue  of  the 
Cock  and  the  Fox,  in  which,  though  the  dramatis  personee  are 
animals,  they  are  endowed  with  such  a  droll  similitude  to  the 
human  character,  that  the  reader  enjoys  at  the  same  time  the 
apparently  incompatible  pleasures  of  sympathizing  with  them 
as  human  beings,  and  laughing  at  their  fantastic  assumption  of 
reason  as  lower  creatures. 

79.  A  remark  has  been  made,  some  pages  back,  on  the  cir- 
cumstance of  two  of  the  stories  being  written  in  prose.  It  may 
be  not  uninteresting  to  investigate  this  exception.  When  Chaucer 
is  applied  to  by  the  Host,  he  commences  a  rambling  puerile 
romance  of  chivalry,  entitled  the  Rime  of  Sir  Thopas,  which 
promises  to  be  an  interminable  story  of  knight-errant  adven- 
tures, combats  with  giants,  dragons,  and  enchanters,  and  is 
written  in  the  exact  style  and  metre  of  the  Trouvere  narrative 
poems  —  the  only  instance  of  this  versification  being  employed 
in  the  Canterbury  Tales.  He  goes  on  gallantly  "  in  the  style 
his  books  of  chivalry  had  taught  him,"  and,  like  Don  Quixote, 
"imitating,  as  near  as  he  could,  their  very  phrase;"  but  he  is 


A.  D.  1340-1400.  CHAUCER.  45 

suddenly  interrupted,  with  many  expressions  of  comic  disgust,  by 
the  merry  host :  — 

"  '  No  morof  this,  for  Goddes  dignite! ' 
Quod  our  Iloste,  '  for  thou  makest  me 
So  wery  of  thy  verray  lewcdncsse, 
That,  al  so  wisly  God  my  soule  blessc, 
Myn  eeres  aken  for  thy  drafty  spcche. 
Now  such  a  ryin  the  devcl  I  byteche! 
This  may  wel  be  ryia  dogerel,'  quod  he." 

80.  Chaucer,  then,  with  great  goodnature  and   a   readiness 
which  marks  the  man  of  the  world,  offers  to  tell  "  a  litel  thing  in 
prose;  "  and  commences  the  long  allegorical  tale  of  Melibeus  and 
his  -wife  Prudence,  in  which,  though  the  matter  is  often  tiresome 
enough,   he  shows   himself  as  great  a  master  of  prose  as  of 
poetry.  (15). 

81.  The  other  prose  tale  is  narrated  by  the  Parson,  who,  being 
represented  as  a  somewhat  simple  and  narrow-minded  though 
pious  and  large-hearted  pastor,  characteristically  refuses  to  in- 
dulge the  company  with  what  can  only  minister  to  vain  pleasure, 
and  proposes  something  that  may  tend  to  edification,  "  moralite 
and  vertuous  matiere ;  "  and  commences  a  long  and  very  curious 
sermon  on  the  Seven  Deadly  Sins,  their  causes  and  remedies  —  a 
most  interesting  specimen  of  the  theological  literature  of  the  day. 
It  is  divided  and  subdivided  with  all  the  painful  minuteness  of 
scholastic  divinity;  but  it  breathes  throughout  a  noble  spirit  of 
evangelical  piety,  and  in  many  passages  attains  great  dignity  of 
expression. 

82.  Besides  these   two  Canterbury  Tales,  Chaucer  wrote  in 
prose  a  translation  of  Boethius'  De  Consolatione,  and  an  imita- 
tion of  that  work,  under  the  title  of  The  Testament  of  Love,  and 
an  incomplete  astrological  work,  On  the  Astrolabe,  addressed  to 
his  son  Lewis  in  1391. 

83.  The  general  plan  of  the  Canterbury  Tales  is  believed  to 
have  been  taken  from  the  Decameron  of  Boccacio,  though  the 
English  poet's  conception  must  be  allowed  to  be  infinitely  superior 
to  that  of  the  Italian,  whose  ten  accomplished  young  gentlemen 
and  ladies  assemble  in  their  luxurious  villa  to  escape  from  the 
terrible   plague   which  was   then,    in   sad   reality,    devastating 
Florence. 

84.  The  difficulty  of  reading  and  understanding  Chaucer  has 
been  much  exaggerated.     The  principal  rule  that  the  student 
should  keep  in  mind  is  that  the  French  words,  so  abundant  in 


46  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  IV. 

his  writings,  had  not  yet  been  so  modified,  by  changes  in  their 
orthography  and  pronunciation,  as  to  become  anglicized,  and  are 
therefore  to  be  read  with  their  French  accent;  and  secondly,  that 
the  final  e  which  terminates  so  many  English  words  had  not  yet 
become  an  e  mute,  and  is  to  be  pronounced  as  a  separate  syllable, 
as  love,  Jiopc,  love,  hope  ;  and  finally,  the  past  termination  of  the 
verb  ed  is  almost  invariably  to  be  made  a  separate  syllable. 
Some  curious  traces  of  the  old  Anglo-Saxon  grammar,  as  the  in- 
flections of  the  personal  and  possessive  pronouns,  are  still  re- 
tained ;  as  well  as  of  the  Teutonic  past  participle,  in  the  prefix 
i  or  y  (ifalle,  yron,  German  gef alien,  geronneit},  and  a  few  other 
details  of  the  Teutonic  formation  of  the  verb. 

85.  Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  reduce  Chaucer's  writ- 
ings to  the  language  and  diction  of  modern  times  ;  and  even  some 
distinguished  poets  have  tried  their  skill  in  this  way,  but  with 
very  indifferent  success.  Wordsworth  has  adhered  with  tolerable 
fidelity  to  the  language,  and  consequently  to  the  spirit,  of  the 
original.  His  Cuckoo  and  Nightingale,  Prioress's  Talc,  and 
Troilus  and  Cresida,  really  do  retain  a  good  deal  of  Chaucer; 
but  the  less  sympathetic  minds  of  Dryden  and  Pope  made  even 
this  moderate  degree  of  success  impossible.  The  Palamon  and 
Arcite,  Wife  of  BatJis  Tale,  Cock  and  Fox,  and  Flower  and  Leaf 
of  Dryden,  are  perhaps  very  pleasant  reading;  but  everything 
characteristic  of  the  greater  poet,  that  subtle  essence  which  is 
everywhere  present  in  his  works,  has  evaporated  utterly.  Pope's 
failure  in  the  Prologue  to  the  Wife  of  Bath^  and  in  the  Mcr- 
chants  Tale,  is  no  less  marked. 


A.  D.  1340-HOO..'  CHAUCEKS   CONTEMPORARIES.      47 


CHAPTER    V. 

THE  CONTEMPORARIES  OF  CHAUCER. 

86.  INTELLECTUAL  power,  it  is  said,  has  a  tendency,  in  all 
countries  where  it  has  been  developed,  to  gather  in  clusters.     It 
seldom,  if  ever,  occurs  in  literature  that  a  single  isolated  figure 
is  found  standing  alone  —  that  a  "bright  particular  star"  shines 
forth  unattended  by  the  lesser  lights,  which  shed  a  steady,  though 
less  brilliant,  lustre  over  the  literary  firmament.      Throughout 
the  history  of  English,  as  well  as  of  classical  literature,  we  in- 
variably find  the  great  names  grouped  into  distinct  constellations 
round   some  one  star  of  the  first  magnitude,  whose  surpassing 
radiance,  by  attracting  the  gaze  exclusively  to  itself,  often  serves 
to  make  us  insensible  to  the  no  less  real  splendor  of  its  humble 
companions.     And  so  it  is  with  the  age  of  Chaucer.     From  one 
'poet  of  transcendent  merit  it  has  gained  a  distinct  character  and 
a  distinct  interest;    by  him  mainly  it  has  been   m,ade  fruitful 
throughout  all  time;   but  he,  too,  is  but  the  central  figure  of  a 
group  —  the  most  splendidly  endowed  genius  in  a  band  of  rare 
intellects. 

87.  No  writings — not  even  those  of  Chaucer  himself — so 
faithfully  reflect  the  popular  feeling  during  the  great  social  and 
religious  movement  that  forms  so  striking  a  feature  of  the  latter 
half  of  the  fourteenth  century,  as  that  very  remarkable  series 
of  poems  which   appeared  under  the  name  of  PIERS  PLOUGH- 
MAN. {11}     In  these  works  the  deep-seated  discontent  of  the 
Commons  with  the  course  of  affairs  in  Church  and  State  found 
a  voice.      They  are  three  in  number:  the  Vision  —  the  Creed  — 
and  the  Complaint  of  Piers  Ploughman,     They  bear  the  closest 
resemblance  to  one   another  in   form   and  spirit,  as  well  as  in 
style  of  execution,  and  were  all  written,  though  at  considerable 
intervals,  within  the  same  half  century.     The  first  in  merit  as 
in  date  (1362?),  which  also  formed  the  model  for  the  others,  and 
is  much  the  longest,  is  the  Vision.     Allusions  to  the  treaty  of 
•Bretigny^  made  in  1360,  and.  to  the  great  tempest  of  1362,  would 


48  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  V. 

seem  to  fix  the  latter  year,  or  thereabouts,  as  the  time  of  its 
composition ;  and  tradition  confidently  assigns  its  authorship  to 
one  Robert  Langlande,  who  is  otherwise  unknown.  Two  things 
are  tolerably  clear  from  the  work  itself —  that  the  writer  was  a 
Churchman,  and  that  he  sympathized  heartily  with  the  new 
spirit  that  was  spreading  through  the  laboring  classes  of  the 
nation.  In  this  work  Piers  Plotighman  (or  Peter  the  Plough- 
man}  is  a  .purely  allegorical  personage  —  a  sort  of  personifica- 
tion of  the  peasantry  —  and  is  the  subject,  not  the  seer,  of  the 
Vision.  The  Latin  title  more  exactly  conveys  its  nature ;  it  is 
Visio  Willclmi  de  Pictro  Ploughman  —  a  vision  seen  by  the 
author,  who  is  here  called  William,  concerning  the  working  men 
of  England.  The  dreamer,  exhausted  by  his  long  wanderings 
—  "  wery  for-wandred,"  he  says  himself — goes  to  sleep  on  the 
Malvern  Hills,  and  soon  becomes  aware  of  a  goodly  company 
gathered  before  him  in  a  field  :  — 

"A  fair  fecld  ful  of  folk 
Fond  I  there  bitwcne, 
Of  alle  manere  of  men, 
The  nicene  and  the  riehe, 
Werchyuge  and  wandrynge." 

In  a  word,  representatives  of  every  section  of  society  are  there 
assembled.  He  is  somewhat  puzzled  at  first  to  understand  what 
all  this  may  mean,  when  a  "  lovely  lady,"  descending  from  a 
castle,  announces  herself  as  Holy  Church,  expounds  to  him  the 
meaning  of  the  scene  that  lies  before  him,  and  after  leaving  with 
him  the  key  of  the  mystery,  departs.  The  poet  then  proceeds 
to  describe  the  various  incidents  that  took  place  in  this  typical 
assembly,  each  of  which  shadows  forth  in  an  easily-penetrated 
allegory  some  move  in  the  great  game  played  by  king,  ecclesias- 
tic, and  noble.  It  consists  of  nearly  eight  thousand  double 
verses  (or  couplets),  arranged  in  twenty passtts,  or  sections,  so 
little  connected  with  one  another  as  to  appear  almost  separate 
poems.  Its  prevalent  spirit  is  that  of  satire,  aimed  against 
abuses  and  vices  in  general,  but  in  particular  against  the  cor- 
ruptions of  the  Church,  which  are  assailed  with  great  force  and 
spirit. 

88.  The  second,  or  Creed  of  Piers  Ploughman  (1385?),  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  written  some  twenty  or  thirty  years  later 
than  the  Vision.  Though  an  evident  imitation  of  the  earlier 
work,  it  differs  from  it  in  many  important  respects.  In  it  Piers 


A.  D.  1325-1408.  JOHN  OOWER.  49 

.Ploughman  is  no  longer  an  allegorical  personage,  but  a  real 
flesh  and  blood  representative  of  the  sons  of  the  soil :  the  author 
is  an  ardent  disciple  of  Wiclif,  who  attacks  the  doctrines  as  \vell 
as  the  discipline  of  the  Church ;  and  it  contains  no  political  sat- 
ire whatever. 

89.  The  third,  or  Complaint  of  Piers  Ploughman  (1399?),  is  a 
mere  fragment  —  for,  in  common  with  the   Creed,  it  seems  to 
have  been  rigidly  proscribed  by  the  ruling  powers  —  and  its 
tone   is   entirely  political.      It  was   composed   during  the   few 
months  that  intervened  between  the  capture  of  King  Richard 
and  the  accession  of  Henry  Bolingbroke  in  1399. 

90.  All  three  are  constructed  on  the  'same  metrical  principle, 
which  is  a  mixture  of  alliteration  and  rhythmical  accent,  without 
rhyme ;  and  they  are  the  last  and  most  perfect  specimens  of  the 
kind  in  any  form  of  the  language.    In  this  respect,  as  well  as  in 
the  character  of  the  allegory  and  their  somewhat  obsolete  style, 
they  would  seem  to  indicate  a  distinct  return  to  the  ancient 
models ;  but  the  proportion  of  French  wrords  found  in  them  is 
.just  as  great  as  in  Chaucer.     But,  though  the  earliest  of  them 
is  later  in  date  than  the  earliest  of  Chaucer's  works,  their  diction 
is  more  archaic,  and  a  more  considerable  number  of  their  words 
has  fallen  out  of  use. 

91.  A  notable  fact  in  the  history  of  these  works  is  the  great 
popularity  they  afterwards  attained  on  their  being  first  printed 
in  the  year  1550,  when  they  not  only  materially  promoted  the 
growth  of  Reformation  principles,  but  contributed  to  the  mental 
development  of  more  than  one  great  intellect.     The  character 
of  the  poet  Spenser  was  almost  entirely  moulded  by  them  and 
their  great  contemporary. 

92.  But  the  name  that  is  most  closely  linked  with  Chaucer's 
is  that  of  JOHN  GOWER  (13.25?-! 408).     Born  some  time  before 
Chaucer,  this  excellent  poet  and  man  lived  in  the  most  intimate, 
though  it  would  seem  not  unbroken,  friendship  with  him  during 
a  great  part  of  their  joint  lives,   and  finally  survived  him  for 
eight  years.     It  is  to  "  moral  Gower"  that  the  "  Troilus  and 
Creseide  "  was  dedicated :  he,  too,  became  the  poet's  represen- 
tative when  he  was  absent  in  Italy  in  1373 ;  and  he  pays  a  high 
compliment  to  his  friend  in  the  first  edition  of  his  English  work, 
the  Confcssio  Arnault's.  (12)     The  omission  of  this  passage  in 
the  later  edition,  and  the  emphatic  language  in  which  Chaucer, 
in  the  Man  of  Law's  prologue,  denounces  the  "  corscd  stories  " 

4 


50  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  V. 

introduced  by  the  other  into  his  work,  are  supposed  to  indicate 
a  rupture  of  this  famous  friendship ;  but  there  is  happily  no 
necessity  for  so  unwelcome  an  explanation. 

93.  The  course  of  Gower's  life  was  by  no  means  so  active  or 
so  full  of  vicissitudes  as  his  friend's.     A  member  of  an  affluent 
county  family  in  Kent,  he  appears  to  have  passed  his  life  mainly 
in  the  management  of  his  property  and  in  the  composition  of 
his  literary  works.     Yet  he  was  not  an  unconcerned  spectator 
of  the  stirring  events  of  his  time,  as  all  his  extant  works  evince. 
From  a  loyal  subject  of  Richard  of  Bordeaux  he  changed  into 
an  avowed  partisan  of  Henry  of  Lancaster,  whose  badge,  the 
collar  of  the  silver  swan,  still  adorns  the  recumbent  effigy  that 
covers  his  bones  in  St.  Saviour's,  Southwark. 

94.  And  the  three  books,  on  which  the  poet's  head  is  there 
represented  as  reclining,  are  typical,  not  only  of  the  work  of  his 
life,  but  of  the  three  great  literary  principles  that  were  at  wai 
in  his  time.     The  French  language  still  maintained  its  ground 
as  the  language  of  the  educated  classes ;  and  accordingly  even 
our  countryman,  when   addressing  himself  "  al   universite  de 
tout  le  monde,"felt  himself  constrained  to  use  the  alien  tongue; 
but  the  one  great  result  of  his  labors  therein,  the  Speculum  Medi- 
tantis,  is  no  longer  extant,  the  poem  once  taken  for  it  having 
turned  out  to  be  an  entirely  different  work.     This  was  the  last 
considerable  contribution  to  French  literature  in  England. 

95.  Again,  when  Gower  undertook  to  describe  the  diseased 
condition  of  English  society  in  his  time  (1382?)  not  even  then 
did  he  adopt  the  native  tongue ;  but  in  the  Vox  Clamantis  he 
strove  to  give  utterance  to  his  oppressed  feelings  in  alternate 
Latin  hexameters  and  pentameters.     This,  generally  believed 
to  be  the  best  of  his  works,  is  a  poem  in  seven  books,  written 
on  the  subject  of  the  great  insurrection  of  the  Commons  in  1381, 
of  which  he  gives  us  a  lively  picture  in  the  first  Book.    The  fol- 
lo\ving  Books  are  taken  up  mainly  with  elaborate  treatises  on 
religion  and  society,  and  addresses  to  the  different  professions. 
To  this  work  he  afterwards  appended  the  Tripartite  Chronicle^ 
written  in  leonine  hexameters. 

9G.  Finally,  when  Chaucer  had  shown  the  great  capabilities 
cf  the  native  speech  under  a  skilful  hand,  Gower  in  his  old  age 
produced  the  Confcssio  Amantis  (1393)  in  that  tongue.  (12) 
This  work,  which,  though  not  the  ablest,  is  by  far  the  most  in- 


A.  D.  1325-1408.  JOHNOOWER.  51 

teresting  to  us,  was  first  undertaken  at  the  request  of  King  Rich- 
ard, to  whom,  the  poet  says, 

"  Belong  cth  my  lejjeaunce, 
With  all  uiiii  hartes  obeisauuce," 


and  was  finished  in  the  "  yere  sixtenthe  "  of  the  same  king's 
reign  (1392-3).  This  edition  contains  the  celebrated  passage,  in 
Miich  Venus  represents  Chaucer  as  her  'disciple  and  poet,  and 
expresses  a  wish,  that  in  his  "  later  age  "  he  should  "  sette  an 
end  to  all  his  werke  "  by  writing  the  "Testament  of  Love." 
Subsequently,  however,  a  second  edition  of  the  poem  appeared, 
differing  from  the  first  merely  in  the  omission  of  this  compliment 
to  his  great  contemporary,  and  in  the  introduction  of  a  new 
prologue,  which,  without  a  single  reference  to  King  Richard, 
professes"  an  entire  affection  for  Henry  of  Lancaster,  to  whom 
the  book  is  now  dedicated. 

97.  The  Confessio  Amantis  is  a  poem  in  the  octo-syllabic  me- 
tre, consisting  of  eight  Books,  in  addition  to  the  Prologue ;  one 
being  given  to  each  of  the  seven  deadly  sins,  and  another  in- 
serted in  the  body  of  the  work  on  the  subject  of  philosophy  gen- 
erally. It  is  in  reality  a  collection  of  stories,  strung  together 
upon  a  very  simple,  but  not  over  felicitous  plan,  which  is  much 
inferior  to  Chaucer's,  and  hardly  equal  even  to  Boccacio's.  In- 
stead of  a  number  of  characters,  we  have  but  two,  Lover  and 
Genius ;  the  former,  by  direction  of  Venus,  confessing  his  sins 
to  the  latter,  who,  as  the  goddess's  own  clerk,  listens  to  the  pen- 
itent, and  then,  before  shriving  him,  illustrates  the  enormity  of 
his  offences  by  an  immense  number  of  apposite  stories.  These 
are  taken  from  all  manner  of  sources  —  the  Bible,  Ovid,  the 
"  Gesta  Romanorum  "  (the  oldest  collection  of  tales  extant),  God- 
frey of  Viterbo,  French  lays  and  fabliaux,  &c. — and  illustrate 
the  varied  and  extensive  reading  of  the  author.  The  Confessio 
Amantis  possesses  real  merit,  and  is  not  without  a  certain  charm 
far  congenial  minds;  but  its  excellences,  such  as  they  are,  are 
Balanced  by  many  defects.  It  is  tedious,  overlaid  with  learning 
to  a  wearisome  extent,  and  utterly  without  Chaucer's  humor, 
passion,  and  love  of  nature.  The  author,  while  sensible  of  and 
deploring  the  disjointed  state  of  society  in  his  time,  and  the 
offences  of  men  in  high  place,  is  yet  a  stout  supporter  of  the  old 
order  of  things.  His  popularity  with  the  cultivated  classes  con- 


52  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  V. 

tinued  for  many  generations.  James  of  Scotland,  in  the  fifteenth 
century,  describes  him  and  Chaucer  as 

"  Superlative  as  poetis  laureate, 
In  moralitee  and  eloquence  ornate ; " 

and  Shakspeare,  in  the  sixteenth,  not  only  borrows  from  him 
the  materials  of  "  Pericles,"  but  brings  him  upon  the  stage  as 
chorus  to  the  same  play. 

98.  A  greater  poet  than  Gower  still  remains  to  be  noticed  — 
JOHN  BARBOUR  (1316-1395?),  Archdeacon  of  Aberdeen,  whose 
life  was  almost  strictly  contemporaneous  with  Chaucer's.  (14-} 
Though  a  Scotchman,  he  fairly  deserves  a  place  among  English 
poets,  for  the  growth  of  the  literary  dialect  had  not  yet  produced 
any  material  divergence  in  the  language  of  the  two  countries,  nor 
had  their  union  under  the  same  king  yet  converted  the  Northern 
speech  into  a  patois.     There  were  differences  certainly  between 
the  two  tongues,  but  hardly  more  considerable  than  those  exist- 
ing between  parts  of  England  itself.     His  great  poem  is  the 
Brus,  or  Bruce,  a  chronicle  in  rhymed  octo-syllabics  of  the  ad- 
ventures of  King  Robert,  extending  to  about  twelve  thousand 
five  hundred  lines.   It  is  a  work  of  great  merit,  both  poetical  and 
historical;  for  while  occasionally  embellishing  the  great  king's 
history  with  romantic  incidents  and  details,  it  seems  in  the  main 
to  adhere  with  tolerable  fidelity  to  literal  truth.     After  Chaucer 
no  writer  of  the  fourteenth  century  is  so  readable  as  Barbour. 
He  also  paid  several  visits  to  England,  and  studied  at  Oxford  in 
his  old  age,  where  two  curious  memorials  of  him  have  been  lately 
discovered  —  a  versified  translation  of  the  "  Troy  Book,"  and  a 
collection  of  fifty  lives  of  the  Saints. 

PROSE  LITERATURE  IN  THE  TIME  OF  CHAUCER. 

99.  The  most  meritorious  writer  of  English  prose  in  Chaucer's 
time  was  undoubtedly  Chaucer  himself;  but  his  rare  power  in 
this  department  has  been  eclipsed  completely  by  his  transcen- 
dent genius  as  a  poet.    Of  those  writers  whose  fame  depends  on 
prose  works  alone,  the  chief  are  MANDEVILLE,  TREVISA,   and 
WICLIFFE.     The  first,  Sir  John  Mandcville  (1300-1372),  who  is 
sometimes,  but  erroneously,  called  the  father  of  English  prose, 
published  his  well-known  volume  of  travels  in  1356.  (J6*)     This, 
which  Mr.  Ilallam  calls  our  earliest  English  book,  professes  to 
be  an  authentic  account  of  what  the  author  saw  on  his  travels 


A.  D.  1324-1384.    JOHN  OF  THE  VIS  A.    WICLIFFE.    53 

through  the  most  distant  countries  of  the  East,  but  is,  in  reality, 
a  lying  collection  of  marvels,  worthy  only  of  being  classed  -with 
the  adventures  of  Baron  Munchausen.  There  is,  doubtless,  a 
real  element  of  truth  in  the  work,  but  it  is  blencjed  with  such  a 
large  proportion  of  falsehood  as  to  make  the  whole  narrative 
worthless.  The  style,  however,  is  straightforward  and  una- 
dorned, and  the  composition  may  still  be  read  with  but  little 
difficulty. 

100.  JOHN  OF  TREVISA  (11.1387),  besides  other  works,  translated 
into  English  the  Latin  Polychronicon  of  Ralph  Higden,  which 
he  finished  about  the  year  1387  —  a  work  which  Caxton  printed 
in  1482,  with  an  additional  chapter  from  his  own  pen,  bringing 
the  narrative  down  to  the  year  1460.     From  these  two  produc- 
tions we  learn  historically,  what  is  otherwise  a  matter  of  rea- 
sonable inference,  that  the  three  languages  still  existed  side  by 
side  in  England,  but  that  English  was  gradually  recovering  the 
supi-emacy.     Mandeville,  in  his  Prologue,  tells  us  that  he  had 
"  put  this  boke  out  of  Latyn  into  Frensche,  and  translated  it 
agen  out  of  Frensche  into  Englyssche,  that  every  man  of  his 
nation  may  understand  it;  "  and  to  Trevisa  we  are  indebted  for 
the  fact  that  in  1385  "in  al  the  gramere  scholes  of  Engelonde 
childern  le«th  Freynsch  and  construeth  and  lurneth  an  Eng- 
lysch."  „ 

101.  No  name  of  the  time  perhaps  will  be  longer  remembered 
than  that  of  the  man  who  first  gave  a  complete  copy  of  the  Scrip- 
tures to  the  English  people  in  the  English  tongue,  JOHN  WIC- 
LIFFE  (1324-1384).  (17)      This  remarkable  man,  of  almost  as 
great  importance  in  the  literary  as  in  the  political  history  of  our 
nation,  was  born,  it  is  said,  near  Richmond,  in  Yorkshire,  in 
1324,    studied    at  Oxford,    and  eventually  rose  to  considerable 
academical  and  ecclesiastical  preferments,  though  his  life  was 
marked  by  many  vicissitudes.     After  having  been   alternately 
supported  and  abandoned  by  men  of  great  influence,  of  whom 
John  of  Gaunt  was  the  greatest,  he  closed  his  life  peacefully  at 
his  Lutterworth  parsonage  in  1384.     It  was  here,  after  his  ene- 
mies had  driven  him  from  his  Chair  at  Oxford,  that  he  com- 
menced his  great  translation,  which,  with  the  assistance  of  a 
priest,  named  HEREFORD,  he  is  said  to  have  finished  about  the 
year  1380.    The  latter  is  believed  tp  have  been  the  author  of  the 
work  as  far  as  Baruch  in  the  Apocrypha,  and  Wicliffe  himself 
of  the  remainder.     A  revision  of  their  version  was  made  about 


54  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  V. 

ten  years  after  by  PURVEY,  who   introduced  many  important 
alterations  into  the  text  of  his  predecessors. 

102.  But  this  is  not  our  only  obligation  to  Wicliffe.     He  was 
perhaps  the  first  English  scholar  who  made  his  native  tongue 
the  vehicle  for  attacks  on  the  ecclesiastical  system  :  for  his  Last 
^ffe  of  the   Church  (1356),  his  Apology  for  the  Lollards,   and 
Harmony  of  the  Gospels  are  written  in  English. 

103.  It  is  impossible  to  overrate  the  importance  of  Wicliffe's 
great  work,  both  to  the  language  and  the  nation.     Translated, 
as  it  was,  from  the  Latin  Vulgate,  it  supplies  the  principal  rea- 
son that  the  theological  vocabulary  of  our  language  is  taken 
mainly  from  the  Lat:n. 


A.  D.  1370-1460.     OCCLEVE.    LYDGATE.  55 


CHAPTER    VI. 

• 

ENGLISH    LITERATURE    FROM    CHAUCER   TO    SPENSER. 

104.  WITH  the  death  of  Chaucer  in  1400  terminates  our  first 
great   manifestation   of  intellectual   power.     To   it  succeeds   a 
somewhat  lengthened  period  of  literary  decay  as  remarkable  for 
the  absence,  as  the  preceding  was  for  the  presence,  of  original 
genius,  when  the  mental  energies  of  the  nation  seemed  well 
nigh  exhausted.     For  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  we 
meet  with   no .  first-rate   intellect,  with   hardly  a   single   name 
worthy  to  stand  even  in  the  second  rank.     But  though  singu- 
larly deficient  in  great  men,  the  time  was  by  no  means  barren  in 
results.     It  is  distinguished  by  one  event  at  least,  the  importance 
of  which  cannot  possibly  be  ovei'-estimated — the  invention  of 
printing;    and  it  witnessed   the   revival   of  learning,   and   the 
emancipation  of  the  human  mind  from  ecclesiastical  tyranny. 
It  was  also  a  period  of  unwearied  accumulation  of  materials, 
•when  the  spiritual  activities  of  the  nation  were  gathering  them- 
selves up  for  another  marvellous  outburst.     Nor,  indeed,  was 
there  any  break  in  the  chain  of  succession  which  links  the  nine- 
teeth  century  to  the  fourteenth  ;* the  continuity  of  literature  in 
both  verse  and  prose  was  preserved  uninterrupted  by  a  line  of 
men  of   real,    though   not   brilliant,    ability;    foremost   among 
whom,  at  least  in  order  of  time,  come  the  immediate  disciples 
of  Chaucer,  OCCLEVE,  LYDGATE,  and  JAMES  OF  SCOTLAND. 

105.  Of  the  first,  THOMAS  OCCLEVE  (1370-1454?),  little  need  be 
said.     Born  about  1370,  he  was  in  early  life  the  friend,  and  in 
later  the  poetical  disciple,  of  Chaucer,  whose  death  he  bewails 
with  simple  earnestness,  in  his  most  meritorious  work  the  De 
Rcgimine  Principum.     This  lament  is  the  most  striking  passage 
in  the  poem,  which  is  partly  autobiographical  and  partly  re- 
flective. 

100.  JOHN  LYDGATE  (1374-1460?),  known  sometimes  as  Dan 
John  of  Bury  (Bury  St.  Edmund's),  where  he  passed  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  as  an  inmate  of  its  famous  monastery,  deserves  a 


56  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  VI. 

much  higher  place.  His  works  were  in  great  repute  in  his  own 
century  and  long  after,  the  fastidious  Gray,  no  less  than  James 
of  Scotland,  finding  in  him  many  poetical  excellences.  He  was 
a  very  prolific  writer ;  but  his  longest  and  best  known  produc- 
tions are  the  Story  of  Thebes,  the  Troy  Book,  and  the  Fall  of 
Princes.  The  first,  which  is  a  translation  of  the  Thebaid  of 
Statius,  is  given  as  an  additional  Canterbury  Tale,  told  on  the 
return  journey  by  the  author,  who  represents  himself  in  the  pro- 
logue as  having  fallen  in  with  Chaucer's  pilgrims  at  the  Canter- 
bury inn,  and  been  allowed  to  go  home  in  their  company.  The 
Fall  of  Princes  is  a  translation  from  the  "  De  Casibus  Illustrium 
Virorum  "  of  Boccacio,  and  is  chiefly  remarkable  for  the  famous 
reference  to  his  "  maister  Chaucer,"  "  the  lode-sterre  of  our  lan- 
guage," whose  Monk's  Tale  is  constructed  on  the  same  plan. 
The  Latin  prose  romance  of  Guido  Colonnc,  a  Sicilian  poet, 
whom  Edward  I.  brought  to  England,  supplied  him  with  the 
materials  for  the  Troy  Book — a  work  of  some  interest  to  the 
antiquarian,  as  preserving  many  features  of  the  social  life  of  the 
fifteenth  century.  To  these  may  be  added,  as  worthy  of  special 
notice,  the  London  Lackpcnny,  a  short  poem  of  much  spirit  in 
the  tumbling  metre.  Its  moral  will  commend  it  to  the  sympa- 
thies of  all  but  a  very  few  —  the  little  that  can  be  got  in  this 
world  without  money  to  pay  for  it. 

107.  But  the  most  brilliant  poetical  name  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury is  James  I.  of  Scotland  (1394-1437).  This,  the  only  really 
eminent  king  of  the  Stuart  line,  was  no  doubt  indebted  for  the 
development  of  his  royal  qualifies  to  the  same  early  adversities 
to  which  we  owe  his  great  poem,  the  King's  £>iiair,  (18)  writ- 
ten in  the  nineteenth  and  last  year  of  his  captivity  in  England. 
In  1405,  when  but  eleven  years  old,  he  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Henry  IV.,  by  whom  and  whose  successors  he  was  detained  a 
prisoner  for  almost  a  quarter  of  a  century ;  which  period,  how- 
ever, was  not  without  results  to  himself  and  his  nation.  His 
Quair  (Quire  or  Book)  is  a  poetical  record  of  the  circumstances 
under  which  he  first  met,  and  won  the  heart  of,  his  devoted 
Queen,  Jane  Beaufort,  daughter  of  John  Earl  of  Somerset,  and 
consequently  granddaughter  of  John  of  Gaunt  and  of  Chaucer's 
sister-in-law,  Catherine  Swyneford,  whose  bright  figure, 

"  The  fairest  or  the  frcschest  young  flowrc," 

he  caught  a  glimpse  of  from  the  window  of  his  prison,  as  she 


A.  D.  1394-1460.     JAMES  I.    PECOCK.  57 

talked  with  her  attendants  "  under  the  Toure."  In  six  cantos, 
or  about  fourteen  hundred  lines,  the  royal  captive  describes  his 
sad  reflections  in  his  prison-house,  the  sudden  appearance  of  this 
beautiful  vision,  its  peerless  loveliness,  his  many  fluctuating 
emotions,  his  hopes  and  despairs,  and  the  happy  ending  of  his 
courtship.  No  poem  of  equal  merit  was  produced  in  the  long 
interval  between  Chaucer  and  Spenser;  it  is  distinguished  by  a 
genuine  poetic  sensibility,  a  manly  delicacy  of  feeling,  and  ten- 
derness of  expression  not  often  found.  Many  other  effusions 
are  ascribed  to  King  James,  some  of  which  undoubtedly  belong 
to  his  more  licentious  namesake  of  the  following  century.  His 
English  training,  his  devotion  to  English  models,  and  the  fact 
that  he  composed  his  great  work  in  England,  fully  justify  us  in 
calling  him  an  English  poet. 

108.  Besides  these  tl»ree,  this  century  produced  not  'a  single 
respectable  versifier.     They  are  connected  with  one  another  by 
a  sort  of  affinity,  in  being  all  professed  disciples  of  Chaucer, 
whose  influence  upon  them  is  shown  by  the  very  metre  in  which 
they  wrote  —  the  rhyme  royal.     This  stanza,  first  made  popular 
by  Chaucer,  and  a  great  favorite  with  the  poets  of  the  next  two 
centuries,  is  said,  indeed,  to  have  gained  its  name  from  being 
that  of  the  King's  Qucit'r,  though  other  explanations  are  sug- 
gested.    It  consists  of  seven  heroic  lines,  of  which  the  first  and 
third,  the  second,  fourth,  and  fifth,  and  the  sixth  and  seventh 
rhyme  together,  being  in  fact  the  well-known  ottava  rima  with 
the  fifth  line  omitted. 

109.  Prose  literature  made  muclT  greater  progress  in  this  cen- 
tury than  her  elder  sister,  though  half  of  it  had  already  elapsed 
before  any  striking  composition  appeared  even  in  this  depart- 
ment.    REGINALD  PECOCK  (1390-1460?),  Bishop  of  Chichester, 
whose  somewhat  remarkable  career  extends  over  a  large  portion 
of  this  century,  after  combating  the  doctrines  of  the  Lollards  in 
several  English  pamphlets  and  sermons,  finally  published,  un- 
fortunately for  himself,  about  14^0,  the  elaborate  work  entitled 
the  Represser  of  O~>er-much  Blaming  of  the  Clergy.    In  his  zeal 
for  the  Church  he  seems  to  have  overstepped  the  prescribed  lim- 
its of  orthodoxy;  and  he  paid  the  penalty  of  his  rashness  in  the 
Abbey  of  Thorney,  where  he  lay  a  prisoner  from  1457  until  his 
death.     "In  diction  and  arrangement  of  sentences,"  says  Mr. 
Marsh,  "the  JRepressor  is  much  in  advance  of  the  chronicles  of 
Pecock's  age^  the  grammar,  both  in  accidence  and  syntax,  is  in 


58  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAI>.  VI. 

many  points  nearly  where  WiclifFe  had  left  it,"  his  language  be- 
ing more  obsolete  even  than  Lydgate's.  It  is  not  improbable 
that,  like  Spenser  after  him,  he  affected  a  sort  of  archaism  in  his 
style. 

110.  The  Difference  between  Absolute  and  Limited  Monarchy 
was  written  by  Sir  John  Fortescue  (1395-1485),  Chief  Justice  to 
Henry  VI.,  about  the  year  1470.     The  De  Laudibus  Leo-urn  An- 
glice  in  Latin  was  a  contribution  from  the  same  pen  to  the  edu- 
cation of  the  young  Prince  of  Wales,  whose  mental  training 
during  his  years  of  exile  was  under  the  direction  of  Sir  John. 
Both  these  works,  and  especially  the  latter,  are  of  great  value  to 
the  historical  student,  to  whom  they  furnish  direct  evidence  of 
the  constitutional  and  legal  procedure  of  the  time. 

111.  Few  English  names  of  this  age  will  live  as  long  as  that 
of  William  Caxton   (1412-1491),   to  wljom   England  owes  her 
participation  in  the  benefits  arising  from  the  greatest  invention 
of  modern  times  —  the  art  of  printing.     The  original  author  of 
this  invention,  which  was  nothing  more  than  the  use  of  mova- 
ble types  in  place  of  the  old  engraved  wooden  blocks,  is  now 
generally  believed  to  have  been  John  Gutenberg,  of  Mentz.     He 
had  already,  it  is  said-,   thought  out  the  plan  about  1438,  but 
through  poverty  was  unable  to  put  it  into  execution  until  twelve 
years  afterwards,  when  he  met  with  John  Fust,  a  wealthy  mer- 
chant, by  whose  assistance  he  brought  out  in  1455  the  first  printed 
book,  the  Latin  Bible  now  known  as  the  Mazarin.     The  art  was 
introduced  into  England  by  Caxton,  the  first-fruits  of  whose 
printing-press,  set  up  at  Westminster  under  the  patronage  of 
Anthony  Woodville,  Earl  Rivers,  was  the  Game  of  the  Chessc, 
which   appeared   in   1474.     From  that  time  until  his  death   in 
1491,  Caxton  labored  assiduously  at  his  vocation,  giving  to  the 
world  sixty-three  books,  of  which  the  vast  majority  were  in  Eng- 
lish; those,  too,  consisting  partly  of  translations  and  partly  of 
original  works.     Many  of  these  translations  are  from  the  print- 
er's own  pen.     To  others  of  the  books  he  added  prefaces  of  his 
own  composition,  so  that  he  is  fairly  entitled  to  a  place,  though 
not  a  very  high  one,  among  English  authors.  (26} 

112.  To  one  o-f  the  original  writings  published  by  him,  the 
Mort  D 'Arthur  of  SIR  THOMAS  MALORY,  great  interest  is  at- 
tached bv  the  present  generation.     It  is  the  quarry  out  of  which 
the  greatest  of  our  living  poets  has  hewn  the  materials  for  one 
of  his  finished  works,  as  well  as  for  his  earlier  essay  in  the  same 


A.  D.  1412-1491.       WILLIAM  CAXTON.  59 

province.  Notwithstanding  its  name,  "  it  treateth,"  says  Caxton, 
"of  the  byrth,  lyf,  and  actes  of  the  sayd  Kynge  Arthur,  of  his 
noble  Knyghtes  of  the  Roimde  Table,  their  marvayllous  en- 
questes  and  adventures;"  who  also  states  that  it  was  taken  by 
its  author  out  of  certain  books  in  the  French  and  reduced  into 
English,  and  printed  by  himself  in  1485.  It  is  a  romance  of  real 
chivalry,  written  in  a  plain,  unadorned  English  style;  free  fro  ir 
most  of  the  extravagances  of  the  earlier  romances  and  from 
many  of  the  repulsive  passages  which  deformed  the  more  ancient 
Arthurian  cycle.  The  Paston  Letters,  the  earliest  collection  of 
the  kind  in  the  language,  form  a  regular  series,  extending  from 
before  1440  until  1505,  and  are  so  numerous  that  they  filled  five 
volumes  on  their  first  publication.  By  far  the  greatest  number 
are  written  either  by  or  to  members  of  the  Paston  family,  then 
and  afterwards  well  known  in  Norfolk  and  elsewhere,  of  which 
Sir  William,  the  "  Good  Judge,"  was  the  first  representative  of 
distinction;  but  the  collection  contains  not  a  few  from  the  most 
prominent  men  of  the  time,  the  Duke  of  York,  the  Earl  of  War- 
wick, the  Duke  of  Norfolk  (Shakspeare's  "Jockey  of  Norfolk"), 
and  many  others.  They  were  published  at  intervals,  between 
the  years  1787  and  1823  ;  the  first  four  volumes  under  the  editor- 
ship of  Sir  John  Fenn,  a  Norfolk  antiquary,  and  the  fifth  under 
that  of  his  nephew,  Serjeant  Frere.  This  collection  is  of  the 
greatest  historical  importance,  not  only  from  the  light  it  throws 
upon  some  of  the  dark  passages  of  our  history,  but  also  from  the 
valuable  illustrations  it  supplies  of  the  domestic  manners,  and 
modes  of  thought  and  action  that  prevailed  in  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury. The  inner  life  of  the  period  is  laid  open  before  us;  its 
character  and  spirit  are  revealed  to  us  through  the  very  thoughts 
and  words  of  those  that  lived  in  it.  No  other  literary  monu- 
ment could  so  effectually  bring  us  into  contact  with  the  very 
"form  and  pressure"  of  the  age. 

113.  The  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century  is  in  some  respects 
an  improvement  upon  its  predecessor,  though  in  England  at 
least  it  failed  to  produce  any  poet  of  equal  merit  with  King 
James.  The  Pastime  of  Pleasure  of  STEPHEN  HAWES,  a  favorite 
of  Henry  VII.,  is  a  rather  dull  allegorical  poem  in  rhyme  royal; 
and  ALEXANDER  BARCLAY'S  Ship  of  Fools  is  merely  a  transla- 
tion of  the  once  celebrated  satire  of  Sebastian  Brandt.  These 
works,  though  of  little  value  in  themselves,  testify  to  the  marked 
progress  that  our  versification  was  making  towards  grace  and 


60  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  VI. 

harmony;  and  in  this  respect,  if  in  no  other,  the}r  indicate  an 
approach  to  the  manner  of  Spenser  and  Shakspeare. 

114.  The  most  prolific  versifier  of  this  period  was  JOHN  SKEL- 
TON (1460-1529),  who,  with  WILLIAM  ROY,  author  of  the  Satire 
upon  the  Clergy,  is  generally  taken  to  typify  the  then  prevalent 
spirit  of  revolt  against  ecclesiastical  arrogance  and  authority., 
especially  as  represented  by  our  last  great  churchman,  Cardinal 
Wolsey.  (21)  Skelton  was  himself  a  much  humbler  member 
of  the  same  profession,  being  rector  of  Diss,  in  Norfolk;  and  wa 
have  the  testimony  of  Erasmus,  then  a  resident  in  England,  to 
his  eminence  as  a  scholar  and  man  of  letters.  His  bitter  tongue, 
however,  is  said  to  have  drawn  down  upon  him  the  Cardinal's 
wrath,  from  which  he  was  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  the  Sanc- 
tuary at  Westminster,  where  he  died  in  1529.  His  Latin  poems, 
in  the  headings  of  which  he  loved  to  style  himself  "  Poeta 
Skelton  Laureatus  "  (an  allusion  to  the  honor  of  the  laurel,  or 
degree  in  verse  which  he  gained  at  Oxford),  evince  not  a  little 
classical  elegance.  His  serious  efforts  in  English  are  exceed- 
ingly heavy  and  tedious;  but  his  satiric  writings,  coarse  and 
vulgar  as  they  too  often  are,  show  so  much  force  and  spirit  that 
they  still  retain  some  degree  of  popularity.  There  is,  perhaps, 
too  much  reason  for  the  opinion  of  Puttenham,  who  calls  him 
"a  rude,  rayling  rimer;"  but  any  manifestation  of  intellectual 
vigor,  whatever  form  it  may  take,  is  sure  to  gain  a  certain 
amount  of  respect  in  England.  The  peculiar  doggerel  measure, 
too,  called  by  himself  "  breathlesse  rhymes,"  in  which  his  satiric 
works  are  composed,  and  his  use  of  the  familiar  speech  of  the 
people,  have  attracted  to  him  a  degree  of  attention  which  his 
intrinsic  merits  by  no  means  entitle  him  to.  His  principal 
attacks  upon  Wolsey  are  found  in  the  Bookc  of  Colin  Clout, 
Why  come  ye  not  to  Court  /*,  and  the  Bouge  of  Court  (/.  e. 
Bouche  a  Court,  diet  allowed  at  Court),  which  last  is  written  in 
the  favorite  stanza  of  the  day — rhyme  royal.  The  Scottish 
King  and  nation  also  fell  under  the  lash  of  Skelton;  and  he 
exults  in  no  very  generous  spirit  over  the  terrible  overthrow 
they  sustained  at  Flodden.  Notwithstanding  the  admiration 
that  is  often  expressed  for  this  writer,  his  so-called  satirical  com- 
positions hardly  rise  above  the  dignity  of  lampoons ;  most  of 
them  are  simply  venomous  pasquinades  on  one  of  the  most  mag- 
nanimous of  our  statesmen.  His  happier  efforts,  indeed,  were  of 
a  much  less  ambitious  kind.  The  bright  sparkle  and  animation 


A.  D.  1503-1542.    SIX   THOMAS   WYATT.  61 

of  his  Book  of  the  Spat-row  go  far  to  redeem  his  fame;  and  the 
somewhat  boisterous  liveliness  of  the  Tunning-  of  Elinor  Rum- 
myng  well-nigh  compensates  for  its  almost  indecent  coarseness. 
The  first,  one  of  the  most  famous  of  his  productions,  is  a  mock 
heroic  dirge  or  lamentation  on  the  death  of  a  tame  sparrow  be- 
longing to  the  "fair  Jane  Scrope,"  and  consists  of  a  description 
of  a  funeral  service  performed  by  all  the  birds  for  the  repose  of 
Philip  Sparrow's  soul,  to  which  is  prefixed  a  humorous  excom- 
munication of  cats  in  general,  and  the  cat  that  murdered  poor 
Philip  in  particular.  Some  notice  of  Skelton's  dramatic  works 
will  be  given  in  a  subsequent  chapter.  "  His  learning,"  in  the 
opinion  of  Mr.  Marsh,  "  certainly  did  Httle  for  the  improvement 
of  his  English  style  ;  and  it  may  be  said  of  his  diction  in  general, 
that  all  that  is  not  vulgar  is  pedantic." 

115.  Inferior  to  Skelton's  works  in  force  and  vivacity,  but 
vastly  superior  in  elegance  and  grace,  the  poems  of  WYATT  and 
SURREY  are  the  earliest  indications  of  the  dawn  of  the  brightest 
day  that  our  literature  has  ever  seen.  These  two  poets,  though 
unequal  in  merit,  possess  so  much  in  common;  there  is  so 
marked  an  affinity  in  their  manner  and  tone  of  mind  that  their 
names  are  now  indissolubly  associated  together.  The  higher 
place  is  invariably  assigned  to  the  younger,  HENRY  HOWARD, 
EARL  OF  SURREY  (1517-1547),  whose  early  death  on  the  scaffold 
in  1547  has  deepened  the  romantic  interest  that  surrounds  his 
name.  (  23,  24:}  His  contributions  to  poetry  are  not  very  ex- 
tensive, but  are  of  considerable  importance,  as  wrell  from  their 
own  peculiar  excellence  as  from  the  new  metrical  form  and  new 
style  in  which  many  of  them  are  written.  It  is  to  Surrey  that 
we  owe  two  of  the  greatest  literary  innovations  —  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  Sonnet,  and  the  use  of  Blank  Verse;  from  him  we 
have  received  our  first  translation  in  verse  from  a  classical  author 
made  south  of  the  Tweed,  and  he  was  the  first  to  write  in  that 
involved  style,  which  so  strikingly  distinguishes  the  language 
of  Shakspeare  from  that  of  Chaucer.  A  version  of  the  second 
and  fourth  Books  of  the  yEneid,  in  \vhat  Milton  called  "  English 
heroic  verse  without  rhyme ;  "  numerous  sonnets  on  many  sub- 
jects, chiefly  amatory;  a  satire  on  the  citizens  of  London,  to- 
gether with  paraphrases  of  Ecclesiastes  and  some  of  the  Psalms, 
constitute  the  main  portion  of  his  writings.  The  fanciful  theories 
of  some  later  editors  have  attached  a  greater  significance  than  it 
deserves  to  his  connection  with  the  fair  Geraldine,  daughter  of 


62  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  VI. 

the  Earl  of  Kildare,  in  whose  honor  many  of  his  best  sonnets 
were  written. 

116.  SIR  THOMAS  WYATT  (1503-1542),  though  fourteen  years 
older  than  his  friend,  is  generally  regarded  as  his  poetical  dis- 
ciple, but  is  undoubtedly  a  poet  of  a  much  lower  type.  (##)  He, 
too,  composed  many  songs  and  sonnets  on  the  one  inexhaus- 
tible topic —  love;  and  there  is  some  reason  to  suppose  that  the 
lady  who  forms  the  subject  of  these  was  the  ill-starred  Ann 
Boleyn.     His  satires  and  metrical  versions  of  the  Penitential 
Psalms  supply  an  additional  point  of  resemblance  between  him 
and  Surrey.     In  both  the  highly  beneficent  influences  of  an  ac- 
quaintance with  Italian  Hterature  are  manifest;  influences  which 
affected  the  entire  structure  and  spirit  of  our  poetry  for  the  next 
century  and  longer,  imparting  to  it  a  smoothness  and  melody 
unknown  before,  without  impairing  in  the  slightest  degree  its 
native  strength  and  manliness  of  tone.     Their  collected  works 
were  first  published  ten  years  after  Surrey's  death,  in  Tottel's 
Miscellany;  and  with  them  some  poems  of  Nicholas  Grimoald, 
who  is  chiefly  remarkable  as  having  been  the  first  to  follow 
Surrey  in  the  use  of  blank  verse. 

117.  Though  this  century  has  left  us  but  few  monuments  of 
good  prose,  yet  these  are  generally  very  excellent  in  their  kind. 
The  first  name  of  any  distinction  is  that  of  SIR  THOMAS  MORE 
(1480-1535),  whose  best  known  work,  however,  the   Utopia,  is 
written    in    Latin,   though    familiarly  known    to    most  modern 
readers  by  Burnet's  translation.     It  is  a  philosophical  romance 
belonging  to  the  same  class  as  Bacon's  "  New  Atlantis,"  and 
Harrington's  "  Oceana;  "  its  object  being  to  give  a  picture  of  an 
ideal  commonwealth,  where  the   laws  and  social  and  political 
usages  are  in   strict  accordance  with  philosophical  perfection. 
According  to  Mr.  Hallam,  it  takes  its  name  from  King  Utopus 
(o?>  ToTrng.  nowhere),  though  Milton  in  his  "  Areopagitica"  calls 
it  Eutopia  (*^).     Many  of  its  theories  and  suggestions  are  of  a 
most  enlightened  character,  and  some  of  them  are  far  in  advance, 
not  only  of  the  author's  own  time,  but  even  of  the  present.    The 
contrast  between   his   advocacy  of  religious  toleration   in    this 
work,  and  his  own  subsequent  conduct,  when  he  was  brought 
face  to  face  with  the  question,  should  teach  a  powerful  lesson  to 
all  statesmen.     More's  other  writings  are  not  voluminous,  and, 
with  one  notable  exception,  are  of  a  controversial  nature;  and 
display  an  amount  of  bitterness  and  intolerance  strangely  out 


A.  D.  1515-1568.        EOGER  ASCHAM.  63 

of  harmony  with  his  traditional  character.  This  exception  is  a 
work  called  indifferently  a  Life  of  Edward  V.,  or  a  Life  of  Rich- 
ard III..  (30)  which  was  first  printed  anonymously  in  the  edition 
of  Hardynge's  Chronicle,  published  in  1543,  and  has  been  ever 
since  confidently  ascribed  to  More.  Mr.  Hallam  pronounces  it 
"  the  first  example  of  good  English  language,  pure  and  perspicu- 
ous, well  chosen,  without  vulgarisms  or  pedantry." 

1 1 8.  One  of  the  best  translations  ever  made  is  LORD  BERNERS' 
Chronicle  of  Froissart,  so  exactly  does  the  archaism  of  its  lan- 
guage reproduce  the  picturesque  old  French.  (27}     Its  author 
was  Governor  of  Calais  under  Henry  VIII.,  at  whose  instigation 
he  is  suppqsed  to  have  undertaken  the  work.     The  first  volume 
was  published  in  1523,  the  second  in  1525. 

119.  This  period  also  witnessed  the  earliest  approximation  to 
history  in  the  modern  form  of  the  English  language;  and  in  the 
pages  of  FABYAN  and  HALL  we  possess  the  first  attempts  at  a 
systematic  compilation  of  past  events.     The  first,  who  was  an 
alderman  and  sheriff  of  London,  reduces  to  a  regular  narrative, 
called  The  Concordance  of  Histories,  the  mythical,  semi-mythi- 
cal, and  authentic  events  of  our  history  from  Brute  the  Trojan 
to  his  own  time;  and  Hall,  a  judge  in  the  Sheriff's  Court  of  the 
same  city,  under  the  title  of  the  Union  of  the  TVJO  Noble  and 
Illustrious  Families  of  York  and  Lancastej',  gives  a  history  of 
England  under  those  two  houses,  and  so  on  down  to  the  year 
1532,   which  Grafton   afterwards  continued  until  the  death  of 
Henry  VIII.     These  writings,  though  totally  devoid  of  any  pre- 
tensions to  history  in  the  genuine  sense  of  the  word,  are  valua- 
ble not  only  as  storehouses  of  facts  for  modern  narrators,  but 
also  as  monuments  of  language  and  examples  of  the  popular  feel- 
ing of  the  time.     It  is  from  Hall  that  Lord  Bacon  derived  the 
principal  materials  for  his  "  History  of  Henry  VII." 

120.  The  ToxophilusGi  ROGER  ASCHAM  (1515-1568),  published 
in  1545,  was  written  to  revive  the  then  decaying  interest  in  the 
use  of  the  bow,  and  is  distinguished  by  quiet  dignity  of  style  and 
manliness  of  spirit.     It  is  composed  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue 
between  Philologus  and  Toxophilus.    Eighteen  years  afterwards, 
when  tutor  to  Queen  Elizabeth,  this  same  author  brought  out  his 
more  important  work,  The  Schoolmaster,  which  is  still  valuable 
for  the  principles  and  rules  of  teaching  expounded  therein.    One 
memorable  passage,  quoted  repeatedly  since,  will  long  retain  an 
interest  from  its  connection  with  Lady  Jane  Grey. 


64  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  VI. 

121.  No  literary  monument  of  this  age,  and  few  of  any  age, 
wrought  such  momentous  results  to  the  nation  and  language  as 
the  first  authorized  version  of  the  Scriptures,  which  was  given 
to  the  English  people  in  1536.     It  then  appeared  under  the  edi- 
torship of  MILES  COVERDALE,  subsequently  Bishop  of  Exeter; 
but  the  entire  work  bears  the  impress  of  the  mind  of  WILLIAM 
TYNDAL,  who  in  1526  published  at  Antwerp  his  translation  of 
the  New  Testament,  (28)  afterwards  added  the  Pentateuch,  and 
finally,  in  the  year  of  his  martyrdom  (1536),  the  Psalms  and  the 
Prophets,  written  either  by  himself  or  under  his  supervision.    It 
is  thought  that  no  writer,  not  even  Shakspeare  himself,  so  deeply 
affected  the  character  and  form  of  the  language  as  Tyndal.     He 
contributed  more  than  any  other  to  fix  in  their  present  shape  its 
grammatical  structure,  idiom,  and  diction. 

122.  During  this  period  there  took  place  in  the  northern  king- 
dom the  earliest  original  development  of  the  national  genius, 
whose  productive  energy  contrasts  honorably  with  the  mental 
torpor  that  prevailed  in  the  south.  The  impulse  communicated  by 
Barbour  had  carried  Scottish  literature  to  still  nobler  triumphs; 
and  the  writings  of  Henryson,  Gawin  Douglas,   and  Dunbar, 
first  stamped  upon  it  that  distinct  national  impress  which  is  yet 
uneffaced.    Though  Henryson's  Testament  of  the  Faire  Creseide 
is  a  continuation  of  a  work  of  Chaucer's,  yet  his  exquisite  pas- 
toral of  Robin  and  Makyne.  breathes  the  peculiar  national  spirit. 
The  exploits  of  William  Wallace  gave  a  congenial  subject  to  the 
muse  of  BLIND  HARRY,  otherwise  HARRY  THE  MINSTREL,  of 
whose  life  we  have  a  very  imperfect  knowledge.     GAWIN  DOUG- 
LAS (1474-1522),  Bishop  of  Dunkeld,  prided  himself  on  his  free- 
dom from  southern  influences,  and  wrote  in  the  very  broadest 
form  of  his  native  dialect  his  translation  of  Virgil,  as  well  as 
his  Kinff  Hart,  and  Palace  of  Honour,  the  diction  of  which  is 
defaced   by  the  unnecessary  introduction  of  a  great  mass  of 
French  and  Latin  words,  far  beyond  the  proportion  usual  in 
contemporary  English  writings. 

123.  But  the  special  glory  of  Scotland  in  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century  is  WILLIAM  DUNBAR,   a  truly  powerful  and 
original  genius,  and  the  greatest  Scotch  poet  before  Burns.    1 1  is 
Thistle  and  Rose,  which  celebrates  the  marriage  of  James  IV. 
of  Scotland  with  Margaret  Tudor,  daughter  of  Henry  VII.,  is 
a  poem  of  great  merit;   and   his  Dance  of  the  Seven   Deadly 
Sins  (19)  possesses  an  almost  fearful  force  and  picturesqueness, 


A.  D.  1490-1557.     SIR  DAVID  LINDESAY.  65 

To  these  might  be  added  as  favorable  specimens  of  his  genius 
The  Design  of  the,  Golden  Terge,  and  the  Lament for  the  Makars 
(poets).  His  strength  and  liveliness  of  imagination  are  beyond 
all  praise ;  but  a  degrading  licentiousness  both  in  thought  and 
expression  often  pollutes  his  pages. 

124.  SIR  DAVID  LINDESAY  (1490-1557),  a  name  familiar  to  the 
readers  of  "  Marmion,"  is  the  last  conspicuous  member  of  this 
group.  {20}  He,  too,  is  remarkable  rather  for  vigor  than 
grace ;  and  his  temperament  naturally  projected  him  into  the 
department  of  satire,  which  in  his  most  elaborate  effort,  the 
Satire  of  the  Three  Estates,  takes  a  dramatic  form.  This  is  the 
earliest  work  of  the  kind  in  the  northern  dialect.  Other  com- 
positions of  his  axe  The  Monarchy,  Squire  Meldrum,  and  the 
Complaint  of  the  Papingo ;  which  last  is  one  of  his  most  success- 
ful pieces.  The  effect  of  Sir  David's  works  on  the  progress  of  the 
Reformation  in  Scotland  is  generally  supposed  to  have  been 
considerable,  a  circumstance  which  Scott  finely  glances  at  when 
he  ascribes  to  him  — 

"  that  satiric  rage, 
Which,  bursting  on  the  early  stage, 
Branded  the  vices  of  the  age, 
Arid  broke  the  keys  of  Home." 


66  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.          CHAP.  VII. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

THE    NON-DRAMATIC    ELIZABETHAN    POETS. 

125.  THE  age  of  Elizabeth  is  characterized  by  features  which 
cause  it  to  stand  alone  in  the  literary  history  of  the  world.      It 
was   a  period  of  sudden  emancipation  of  thought,  of  immense 
fertility  and   originality,    and   of  high   intellectual  cultivation. 
The  language  had  reached  its  highest  perfection ;    the  study  and 
imitation  of  ancient  or  foreign  models  had  furnished  a  vast  store 
of  materials,  images,  and  literary  forms,  which  had  not  yet  had 
time  to  become  commonplace  and  over-worn.      The  poets  and 
prose  writers  of  this  age,  therefore,  united  the  freshness  and 
vigor  of  youth  with   the  regularity  and  majesty  of  manhood. 
It  will  be  our  task  to  give  a  rapid  sketch  of  some  of  its  great 
works. 

126.  The  first  distinguished  name  is  that  of  THOMAS  SACK- 
VILLE,  Lord  Buckhurst  (1536-1608),  a  kinsman  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, who  late  in  life  filled  the  office  of  Lord  High  Treasurer. 
It  was  for  his  children   that  Ascham  wrote  the   Schoolmaster. 
He  projected,  and  himself  commenced,  a  work  entitled  A  Mir- 
rour  for  Magistrates,  which  was  intended  to  contain  a  series  of 
tragic  examples  of  the  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  drawn  from  the 
annals  of   his  own   country,   serving  as   lessons   of  virtue   and 
warnings  to  future  kings  and  statesmen.     Sackville  composed 
the  Induction  (introduction),  and  also  the  first  legend  or  com- 
plaint, which  relates  the  power  and  the  fall  of  the  Duke  of 
Buckingham,  victim  of  the  tyrannical  Richard  III.     The  work 
passed  through  many  forms,  the  earliest,  of  which  the  authors 
M-ere  Richard  Baldwin  and  George  Ferrers,  having  appeared  in 
1559,  and  the  latest  in  1610.     It  was  to  the  second,  or  edition  of 
1563,  that  Sackville  contributed.     The  conception  was  not  origi- 
nal, but  was  simply  an  application   to  English   history  of  thai 
of  Boccacio's  « De  Casibus,'  which  both  Chaucer  and  Lyd-atc 
had  already  followed.     The  Mirronr  for  Ma  ^ht  rate*  is  written 
in  rhyme  royal,  and  exhibits  great  occasional  power  of  expres- 


A.  D.  1552-1599.    EDMUND   SPENSEJR.  67 

sion,  and  a  remarkable  force  and  compression  of  language, 
though  the  general  tone  is  gloomy  and  somewhat  monotonous. 
127.  The  illustrious  EDMUND  SPENSER  (i552?-i599),  unques- 
tionably the  greatest  English  poet  intervening  between  Chaucer 
and  Shakspeare,  was  born  in  London  about  1552  —  a  cadet  of 
the  illustrious  family  whose  name  he  bore,  though  not  endowed 
with  fortune — and  was  educated  at  the  University  of  Cam- 
Bridge,  where  he  undoubtedly  acquired  an  amount  of  learning 
remarkable  even  in  that  age  of  solid  and  substantial  studies, 
is  supposed  to  have  gained  his  first  fame  by  the  publication, 
in  1579,  °f  the  Shepherd's  Calendar,  a  series  of  pastorals  di- 
•ided  into  twelve  parts  or  months,  in  which,  as  in  Virgil's 
Bucolics,  under  the  guise  of  idyllic  dialogues,  his  imaginary 
interlocutors  discuss  high  questions  of  morality  and  state,  and 
?ay  refined  compliments  to  illustrious  personages.  These  ec- 
oges,  to  which  Spenser  endeavored  to  give  a  national  air  by 
Dainting  English  scenery  and  the  English  climate,  and  by  select- 
ing English  names  for  his  rustic  persons,  attracted  to  him  the 
favor  and  patronage  of  the  great.  Through  his  friend,  the 
earned  Gabriel  Harvey,  whose  mania  for  employing  the  an- 
cient classical  metres,  founded  on  quantity,  in  English  verse,  for 
some  time  infected  the  poet  himself,  he  acquired  the  notice  and 
~avor  of  the  accomplished  Sidney;  and  it  was  at  Penshurst,  the 
fine  mansion  of  the  latter,  that  he  is  supposed  to  have  revised 
the  Shepherds'  Calendar,  which  he  dedicated,  under  the  title  of 
the  Poefs  Tear,  to  "Maister  Philip  Sidney,  worthy  of  all  titles, 
aoth  of  Chivalry  and  Poesy."  By  Sidney's  uncle,  Dudley  Earl 
of  Leicester,  he  was  brought  under  the  personal  notice  of  Eliza- 
oeth  herself,  to  whom  he  naturally  sought  to  recommend  him- 
self by  all  the  refinements  of  literary  homage ;  but  the  poet,  in 
his  court  career,  inevitably  exposed  himself  to  the  hostility  of 
those  who  were  the  enemies  of  his  protectors ;  and  has  left  us  a 
gloomy  picture  of  the  miseries  of  courtly  dependence.  In  1580, 
however,  on  the  nomination  of  Lord  Grey  de  Wilton  as  Deputy 
of  Ireland,  Spenser  accompanied  him  to  that  country  as  secre- 
tary; and  six  years  afterwards  received  a  grant  of  land  not  far 
from  Cork,  which  had  formed  part  of  the  confiscated  domains 
of  the  Earls  of  Desmond.  At  Kilcolman  Castle,  where  he  re- 
sided for  several  years,  with  occasional  visits  to  England,  he 
composed  the  most  important  of  his  works,  among  which  the 
Queen  holds  the  first  place.  In  October,  1598,  the  great 


•68  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  VII. 

rebellion,  called  Tyrone's  Insurrection,  spread  from  the  neigh- 
boring province  of  Ulster  to  Spenser's  retreat.  Kilcolman  Cas- 
tle was  attacked  and  burned  by  the  insurgents.  Completely 
ruined,  and  overwhelmed  by  the  loss  of  a  young  child,  which 
perished  in  the  wreck  of  his  house,  the  poet  returned  to  London, 
where  he  died  (in  the  greatest  poverty  it  is  said)  in  1599;  and 
was  buried  with  great  pomp  in  Westminster  Abbey,  near  the 
tomb  of  Chaucer. 

128.  Spenser's  greatest  work,  The  Fa^ry  Queen,  (38-42}  the 
subject  of  which  is  chivalric,  allegorical,  narrative,  and  descrip- 
tive, was  originally  planned  to  consist  of  twelve  books  of  moral 
adventures,  each  typifying  the  triumph  of  a  Virtue,  and  couched 
under  the  form  of  an  exploit  of  knight-errantry.  The  hero  of 
the  whole  action  was  to  be  the  mythical  Prince  Arthur,  the  type 
of  perfect  virtue  in  Spenser ;  who  is  supposed  to  have  become 
enamoured  of  the  Fa£ry  Queen  in  a  dream ;  and  on  arriving  at 
her  court  in  Fairy-Land  finds  her  holding  a  solemn  feudal  festi- 
val during  twelve  days.  Here  there  is  a  beautiful  lady  for  whose 
hand  the  twelve  most  distinguished  knights  are  rivals ;  and  in 
order  to  settle  their  pretensions  these  twelve  heroes  undertake 
twelve  separate  adventures,  which  furnish  the  materials  for  the 
action.  The  First  Book  relates  the  expedition  of  the  Red-Cross 
Knight,  who  is  the  allegorical  representative  of  Holiness,  while 
his  mistress  Una  represents  true  Religion ;  and  the  action  of 
the  knight's  exploit  shadows  forth  the  triumph  of  Holiness  over 
the  enchantments  and  deceptions  of  Heresy.  The  Second  Book 
recounts  the  adventures  of  Sir  Guyon,  or  Temperance;  the 
Third,  those  of  Britomartis  —  a  female  champion  —  or  Chastity. 
It  must  be  remarked  that  each  of  these  books  is  subdivided  into 
twelve  cantos;  consequently  the  poem,  even  in  the  imperfect 
form  under  which  we  possess  it,  is  extremely  voluminous.  The 
three  first  books  were  published  separately  in  1590,  and  dedicated 
to  Elizabeth,  who  rewarded  the  delicate  flattery  which  pervades 
innumerable  allusions  in  the  work  with  a  pension  of  fifty  pounds 
a  year.  After  returning  to  Ireland,  Spenser  prosecuted  his 
work;  and  in  1596  he  gave  to  the  world  three  more  books, 
namely,  the  Fourth,  containing  the  Legend  of  Cambell  and 
Triamond,  allegorizing  Friendship;  the  Fifth,  the  Legend  of 
Artegall,  or  Justice;  and  the  Sixth,  that  of  Sir  Calidorc,  or 
Courtesy.  Thus  half  of  the  poet's  original  design  was  exe- 
cuted. Tradition  asserts  that  the  latter  portion  was  completed, 


A.  D.  1552-1599.     EDMUND    SPENSER.  69 

and  lost  at  sea ;  but  more  probably  the  dreadful  misfortunes  of 
his  later  life  prevented  him  from  completing  his  design.  This 
is  perhaps  no  matter  of  regret,  as  the  vigor,  invention,  and 
splendor  of  expression  that  glow  so  brightly  in  the  first  three 
books,  manifestly  decline  in  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth.  In  this 
poem  are  united  and  harmonized  three  different  elements  which 
at  first  sight  would,  appear  irreconcilable;  for  the  skeleton  or 
framework  of  the  action  is  derived  from  the  feudal  or  chivalric 
legends ;  the  ethical  or  moral  sentiment  from  the  lofty  philoso- 
phy of  Plato,  combined  with  the  most  elevated  Christian  purity; 
and  the  form  and  coloring  of  the  language  and  versification  are 
saturated  with  the  flowing  grace  and  sensuous  elegance  of  the 
great  Italian  poets  of  the  Renaissance.  The  principal  defects 
of  the  Fa(iry  Queen,  viewed  as  a  whole,  are  a  want  of  unity, 
involving  a  loss  of  interest  in  the  story;  and  a  monotony  of 
character  inseparable  from  a  series  of  adventures  which,  though 
varied  with  inexhaustible  fertility,  are  all,  from  their  chivalric 
nature,  fundamentally  similar,  being  either  combats  between  one 
knight  and  another,  or  between  the  hero  of  the  moment  and 
some  supernatural  being  —  a  monster,  a  dragon,  or  a  wicked 
enchanter.  Besides,  hardly  can  any  degree  of  genius  long  sus- 
tain the  interest  of  an  allegory;  indeed  those  who  read  Spenser 
with  the  intensest  delight  are  precisely  those  who  entirely  neg- 
lect the  moral  lessons  typified  in  his  allegory,  and  follow  his 
recital  of  adventures  as  those  of  human  beings,  giving  them- 
selves up  to  the  mighty  magic  of  his  unequalled  imagination. 
But  Spenser,  though  extremely  monotonous  and  tiresome  to  an 
ordinary  reader,  is  the  most  enchanting  of  poets  to  him,  who, 
endowed  with  a  lively  fancv,  confines  his  attention  to  one  or  two 
at  a  time  of  his  delicious  episodes,  descriptions,  or  impersona- 
tions. Moreover,  many  of  his  allegorical  persons  and  adventures 
were  intended  to  contain  allusions  to  facts  and  individuals  of 
Spenser's  own  time.  Gloriana,  the  Faery  Queen  herself,  and 
the  beautiful  huntress  Belphcebe,  (40}  shadow  forth  Eliza- 
beth; Sir  Artegall,  the  Knight  of  Justice,  Lord  Grey;  and  the 
adventures  of  the  Red  Cross  Knight  typify  the  history  of  the 
Anglican  Church. 

129.  None  of  our  poets  is  more  exquisitely  and  uniformly 
musical  than  Spenser.  Indeed  the  sweetness  and  flowingness 
of  his  verse  is  sometimes  carried  so  far  as  to  become  cloying 
and  enervated.  The  metre  he  employed,  called  after  him  the 


70  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  VII. 

Spenserian,  consists  of  nine  lines,  and  was  formed  by  adding  an 
Alexandrine  to  the  eight-line  stanza  of  Chaucer.  As  it  is  some- 
what complicated,  and  necessitates  a  frequent  recurrence  in  each 
stanza  of  the  same  rhymes,  —  namely,  four  of  one  ending,  three 
of  another,  and  two  of  a  third,  —  he  was  obliged  to  take  consid- 
erable liberties  with  the  orthography  and  accentuation  of  the 
English  language.  In  doing  this,  he  shows  himself  as  unscru- 
pulous as  masterly.  By  employing  'an  immense  mass  of  old 
Chaucerian  words  and  provincialisms,  nay  even  by  occasionally 
inventing  words  himself,  he  furnishes  his  verse  with  an  inex- 
haustible variety  of  language ;  but  at  the  same  time  the  reader 
must  remember  that  much  of  the  vocabulary  of  the  great  poet 
was  a  dialect  that  never  really  existed.  Its  peculiarities  have 
been  less  permanent  than  those  of  almost  any  other  of  our  great 
writers. 

130.  The  power  of  Spenser's  genius  consists  in  an  unequalled 
richness   of  description,  in  the  art  of  representing  events  and 
objects  with  an  intensity  that  makes  them  visible  and  tangible. 
He  describes  to  the  eye,  and  communicates  to  the  airy  concep- 
tions of  allegory,  the  splendor  and  the  vivacity  of  visible  objects. 
Among  the  most  important  of  his  other  poetical  writings  are  his 
Mother  Ilnbbard's  Tale;  his  DafiJi naida  and  Astrophcl,  idyllic 
elegies  on  the  death  of  Lady  Howard  and  Sir  Philip  Sidney;  all 
his   Amorctti,  or  love-sonnets ;   (43)  and,  above  all,  his  beauti- 
ful Epithalamium,  or  Marriage-Song,  on  his  own  nuptials  with 
the  "  fair  Elizabeth,"  which  is  certainly  one  of  the  richest  and 
chastest  marriage-hymns  to  be  found  in  the  whole  range  of  lit- 
erature.    His  single  prose  work,  the  View  of  the  State  of  Ire- 
land, was  not  published  until  many  years  after  his  death.     It  is 
a  faithful  description  of  the  manners  and  condition  of  the  native 
Celtic  race,  which  Spenser  seems  to  have  carefully  studied,  when 
a  resident  among  them. 

131.  SIR  PHILIP  SIDNEY  (1554-1586)  exerted  so  powerful  an 
influence  on  the  intellectual  spirit  of  the  epoch,  that  our  notice 
of  the  age  would  be  incomplete  without  some  allusion  to  his  life, 
even  did  not  the  intrinsic  merit  of  his  writings  give  him  a  place 
among  the  best  poets  and  prose- writers  of  the  time,     lie  was 
born  in  1554,  and  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-two  (October  7,  1586), 
of  a  wound  received  in  the  battle  of  Zutphen,  fought  to  aid  the 
Protestants  of  the  Netherlands  in  their  heroic  struggle  against 
the  Spaniards.     His  contributions  to  the  literature  of  his  coun- 


A.  D.  1562-1631.      DANIEL.    DRAYTON.  71 

try  consist  of  a  small  collection  of  Sonnets,  (44)  called  Astrophel 
and  Stella  (his  Stella  being  Penelope  Devereux,  Lady  Rich),  re- 
markable for  their  somewhat  languid  and  refined  elegance;  and 
the  prose  romance,  once  regarded  as  a  manual  of  courtesy  and 
refined  ingenuity,  entitled  The  Countess  of  Pembroke's  Arcadia, 
which  was  written  at  the  request  of  his  noble  sister  Mary,  wife 
of  Henry  Herbert,  Earl  of  Pembroke.  A  great  portion  of  the 
work  is  chivalric,  and  the  grace  and  animation  with  which  the 
knightly  pen  of  Sidney  paints  the  shock  of  the  tourney,  and  the 
noble  warfare  of  the  chase,  is  not  surpassed  by  the  luxurious 
elegance  of  his  pastoral  descriptions.  In  the  style  we  see  per- 
petual traces  of  that  ingenious  antithetical  affectation  called 
Euphuism,  an  account  of  which  will  be  given  afterwards;  but 
the  story,  though  occasionally  tiresome  and  involved,  is  related 
with  considerable  skill,  and  abounds  in  happy  thoughts  and 
graceful  expressions.  Sidney  wrote  also  a  small  tract  entitled 
A  Defence  of  Poesy,  (55)  in  which  he  strives  to  show  that  the 
pleasures  derivable  from  imaginative  literature  are  powerful  aids 
not  only  to  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  but  to  the  cultivation 
of  virtue. 

132.  SAMUEL  DANIEL  (1562-1619),  who  is  said  to  have  suc- 
ceeded Spenser  as  poet  laureate,  and  who  enjoyed  among  his 
contemporaries  a  respect  merited  not  only  by  his  talents  but  by 
his  character,  wrote,  in  the  eight-line  stanza,  The  History  of  the 
Civil  Wars,  a  poem  on  the  Civil  Wars  between  the  houses  of 
York  and  Lancaster,  in  that  peculiar  style  of  poetical  narrative 
and  moral  meditation  which  was  at  this   time  a  favorite  type 
among  the  literary  men  of  England.  (46)      The  language  is 
exceedingly  pure,  limpid,  and  intelligible.     The  poem  entitled 
Musophilus  is  an  elaborate  defence  of  learning,  cast  into  the  form 
of  a  dialogue.     Many  of  Daniel's  minor  poems,  as  his  Elegies, 
Epistles,  Masques,   and  Songs,  together  with  his  contributions 
to  the  dramatic  literature  of  the  day,  justify  the  reputation  which 
he  possessed.     Good  sense,  dignity,  and  an  equable  flow  of  pure 
language  and  harmonious  versification,  are  the  qualities  which 
posterity  will  acknowledge  in  his  writings. 

133.  The  longest  and  most  celebrated  productions  of  MICHAEL 
DRAYTON   (1563-1631)  were   the  topographical  and  descriptive 
poem  entitled  Polyolbion,  (48)  in  thirty  cantos  or  songs,  The 
Barons'    Wars,    England's   Hcroical  Epistles,    The  Battle   of 
Agincourt,   The  Muses'  Elysium,  and   the  delicious  fancies  of 


72  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  VII. 

The  Court  of  Fairy.  The  first  is  a  minute  poetical  itinerary 
of  England  and  Wales,  composed  in  the  long-rhymed  verse  of 
twelve  syllables,  known  as  the  Alexandrine,  and  is,  both  in 
design  and  execution,  absolutely  unique  in  literature.  Drayton 
has  described  his  country  with  the  painful  accuracy  of  the  topog- 
rapher and  the  enthusiasm  of  a  poet;  and  the  Polyolbion  will 
ever  remain  a  most  interesting  monument  of  industry  and  taste. 
The  Barons'  Wars,  a  poem,  describing  the  principal  events  of 
the  unhappy  reign  of  Edward  II.,  is  composed  in  the  ottava  rima, 
and  with  many  merits  partakes  of  the  defects  incident  to  such  a 
work.  The  Heroical  Epistles  are  imagined  to  be  written  by 
illustrious  and  unfortunate  personages  in  English  history  to  the 
objects  of  their  love.  They  are  therefore  a  kind  of  adaptation  of 
the  plan  of  Ovid  to  English  annals.  In  the  so-called  Pastoral, 
too,  Drayton  attained  great  excellence ;  in  the  series  entitled  The 
Muses'  Elysium,  and  above  all  in  the  exquisite  little  mock-heroic 
of  Nymphidia,  (47)  everything  that  is  most  graceful,  delicate, 
quaint,  and  fantastic  in  that  form  of  national  superstition 
—  almost  peculiar  to  Great  Britain  —  the  fairy  mythology,  is  ac- 
cumulated and  touched  with  a  consummate  felicity. 

134.  The  vigorous  versatility  of  the  age  is  well  exemplified  in 
SIR  JOHN  DAVIES  (1570-1626),  Chief  Justice  of  Ireland,  who  has 
left  two  works   of  unusual  merit  and   originality,   though   on 
widely  different  subjects.      The  subject  of  one  of  them,  Nosce 
Teipsum,  (40)  is  the  proof  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul ;  that 
of  the  other,  entitled  Orchestra,  the  art  of  dancing.     The  first  is 
written  in  four-lined  stanzas  of   heroic  lines,  afterwards  made 
famous  by  Dryden's  Annus  Mirabilis  ;  and  the  second  in  a  pecu- 
liarly-constructed seven-lined  stanza.     In  both  the  language  of 
Davies   is  pure   and   masculine,   his   versification  smooth   and 
melodious. 

135.  The  manner,  spirit,  and  in  a  sense  even  the  metre  of 
Spenser  were  copied  with  considerable  success  by  the  brothers 
GILES  (1588-1623)  and  PHINEAS  FLETCHER  (1584-1650),  cousins 
of  Beaumont's  colleague,  who,  along  with  WILLIAM  BROWNE 
(1590-1645),  author  of  Britannia's  Pastorals,  are  usually  classed 
as  the  immediate  followers  of  the  great  Elizabethan  poet.     The 
first   published    in    1610  a  poem   entitled   Chrisfs    Victory  and 
Triumph,  written  in   an   eight-line   modification  of  the  Spen- 
serian stanza,  (53}  and  the  second  gave  to  the  world  in  1633 
his  strange  production,  the  Purple  Island,  written  in  a  seven- 


A.  D.  1530-1631.     GASCOYNE.    DONNE.  73 

line  stanza  of  the  same  type.  These  works  are  chiefly  remark- 
able for  the  extraordinary  ingenuity  with  which  the  allegorical 
style  of  tl  eir  model  is  pursued  under  the  most  unfavorable  con- 
ditions; in  the  latter  especially,  whose  subject  is  the  mind  and 
body  of  man,  this  misapplication  of  ability  is  almost  ludicrously 
conspicuous.  Allegorical  anatomy,  however  skilfully  managed, 
is  not  attractive  to  an  ordinary  reader;  nor  is  the  canto  on  the 
intellectual  and  moral  powers  much  more  successful.  Both 
seem,  however,  to  have  been  well  known  to  Milton ;  and  one 
scene  of  the  "  Paradise  Regained,"  the  first  meeting  of  Christ 
with  Satan,  is  said  to  have  been  taken  from  Giles's  work. 

13G.  To  this  time  is  generally  assigned  the  origin  of  English 
satire  as  a  specific  branch  of  poetical  literature,  with  distinctly 
marked  features  of  its  own.  Many  passages,  indeed,  of  social 
and  personal  invective  are  found  in  earlier  writers ;  Chaucer's 
pictures  of  the  monastic  orders  and  other  classes  of  mankind 
abound  in  both  open  and  implied  censure ;  both  the  spirit  and 
matter  of  Langlande's  work  are  almost  wholly  satirical ;  but  in 
neither  of  these  authors  is  satire  an  essential  characteristic,  —  a 
certain  infusion  of  it  was  inevitable  to  the  task  they  undertook, 
but  it  was  far  from  being  a  primary  condition  with  either. 
Skelton  was  too  ribaldrous,  too  full  of  mere  venom  and  spite 
against  individuals,  to  be  ranked  as  anything  more  than  a  mere 
lampooner;  and  Surrey  and  Wyatt  rather  pointed  out  the  way  to 
this  kind  of  composition  than  followed  it  themselves.  The  first 
English  writer  who  distinctly  calls  himself  a  satirist  is  JOSEPH 
HALL  (1574-1656),  (118}  and  the  general  opinion  of  later 
critics  has  acquiesced  in  his  assertion ;  but  the  distinction  has 
-also  been  claimed  for  GEORGE  GASCOYNE  (1530-1577),  whose 
Steel  Glass  appeared  in  1576,  as  well  as  for  the  better  known 
JOHN  DONNE  (1573-1631),  whose  satires  were  composed  as  early 
as  1594,  though  not  published  until  long  afterwards.  (50) 

137.  However  this  may  be,  in  1597,  Joseph  Hall,  then  fresh 
from  Cambridge,  published  three  books  of  biting-  satires,  which 
two  years  afterwards  he  followed  up  with  three  more  of  toothless 
satires :  and  to  the  collective  work  he  gave  the  name  of  Virgide- 
tnarium,  or  a  harvest  of  rods.  («5J)  These  poems  seem  to  fulfil 
all  the  conditions  of  satire ;  they  attack,  with  great  energy  and 
some  humor,  the  prevailing  follies  and  affectations  both  in  litera- 
ture and  social  life.  Though  the  numbers  are  often  harsh  and 
the  meaning  obscure,  they  possess  enough  of  the  spirit  of  Juvenal 


74  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  VII. 

to  make  them  still  readable.  In  later  life  Hall  won  greater  dis- 
tinction still,  more  especially  by  his  sermons;  and  as  bishop  of 
Norwich  and  champion  of  episcopacy,  he  ventured  to  grapple 
with  Milton  himself.  John  Donne  will  take  his  place  more  ap- 
propriately in  a  subsequent  chapter  (see  p.  125).  His  satires, 
which  were  notorious  for  ruggedness  and  want  of  polish,  were 
translated  by  Pope  into  the  language  of  his  own  time,  under  the 
name  of  "The  Satires  of  Dr.  John  D«nne,  Dean  of  St.  Paul's, 
versified."  Many  other  writers  of  the  day  followed  in  the  foot- 
steps of  Hall,  among  whom  the  most  noteworthy  is  JOHN 
MARSTON,  author  of  the  Scourge  of  Villainy. 

138.  No  fact  is  more  significant  of  the  unparalleled  literary 
activity  of  the  Elizabethan  Age  than  the  almost  incredible  num- 
ber of  smaller  poets  that  it  gave  birth  to.      As  many  as  two 
hundred  have  been  reckoned  who  gave  evidence  in  that  time  of 
a  certain  amount  of  skill  in  constructing  verses.      From  among 
these,  the  rank  and  file  of  the  army  of  letters,  we  may  select  as 
worthy  of  some  notice  WILLIAM  WARNER  (1558-1609),  whose 
Albion's  England,  an  historical  poem  in  ballad  metre,  published 
in  1586,   supplanted  in  popular  esteem  the   "  Mirrour  for  Ma- 
gistrates:"  "silver-tongued"  JOSHUA   SYLVESTER  (1563-1618), 
whose  translation  of  Du  Bartas  was  an  early  favorite  with  Mil- 
ton;  and  ROBERT  SOUTHWELL  (1560-1595),  executed  as  a  Jesuit 
priest  in  1595,  author  of  the  Burning  Babe,  which  Ben  Jonson 
admired  so  much.  (52} 

139.  It  is  besides  a  special  distinction  of  the  same  age  that  il 
produced,  among  many  of  a  rather  indifferent  kind,  one  or  two 
translations  of  unusual  excellence.     The  Iliad  and  Odyssey  of 
GEORGE   CHAPMAN   (1557-1634),   which   appeared   at    different 
times  early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  have  won  the  enthusias- 
tic admiration  of  several  generations  of  poets  from  Waller  to 
Keats.     "The  earnestness  and  passion,"  says  Charles  Lamb, 
"which  he  has  put  into  every  part  of  these  poems  would  be  in- 
credible to  a  reader  of  more  modern  translations."     High  com- 
mendation, though   of  a   different  kind,  must  be  awarded    to 
EDWARD   FAIRFAX'S   translation  of   Tasso's  "Jerusalem,"  pub- 
lished  in    1600,    and   SIR  JOHN   HARINGTON'S  version   of    the 
"  Orlando  Furioso,"  which  appeared  ninp  years  earlier. 

140.  But  the  grandest  phenomenon  of  the  epoch  of  Elizabeth 
is  the  Drama,  and  to  it  we  shall  now  address  ourselves. 


A.  D.  1119.         DAWN  OF  THE  DRAMA.  75 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    DAWN    OF    THE    DRAMA. 

141.  SPAIN  and  England  alone,  among  all  the  modern  civil- 
ized nations,  possess  a  theatrical  literature  independent  in  its 
origin,  characteristic  in  its  form,  and  reflecting  faithfully  the 
features,  moral,  social,  and  intellectual,  of  the  people  among 
which  it  arose ;  the  dramas  of  both  countries  being  strongly 
romantic,  though  otherwise  very  dissimilar.  It  is  possible  to 
trace  the  first  dawning  of  our  national  stage  to  a  period  not  far 
removed  from  the  Norman  Conquest;  for  the  custom  of  repre- 
senting, in  a  rude  dramatic  form,  legends  of  the  Lives  of  the 
Saints  and  striking  episodes  of  Bible  History  existed  as  early 
as  the  twelfth  century.  To  these  the  name  of  Mysteries  or 
Miracle-plays  was  given ;  of  which  the  earliest  on  record  is  the 
Play  of  St.  Catherine,  written  in  French,  and  in  all  probability 
a  rude  dramatized  picture  of  the  miracles  and  martyrdom  of  that 
saint,  which  was  represented  at  Dunstable  in  1119.  These  per- 
formances were  obviously  an  expedient  employed  by  the  clergy 
for  communicating  some  elementary  religious  instruction  to  the 
people,  and,  by  gratifying  the  curiosity  of  their  rude  hearers, 
extending  and  strengthening  the  influence  of  the  Church.  At 
first  these  plays  were  composed  and  acted  by  monks ;  the  ca- 
thedral was  transformed  for  the  nonce  into  a  theatre,  the  stage 
was  a  species  of  graduated  platform  in  three  divisions  —  repre- 
senting Heaven,  Earth,  and  Hell  —  rising  one  over  the  other, 
and  the  costumes  were  furnished  from  the  vestry  of  the  church. 
On  many  of  the  high  religious  festivals  the  personage  or  event 
then  commemorated  was  represented  in  a  visible  form,  with 
such  details  as  Scripture,  legend,  or  the  imagination  of  the 
author,  could  supply;  nor  did  the  simple  faith  of  the  monkish 
dramatists  and  their  audience  see  any  impropriety  in  the  intro- 
duction of  the  most  supernatural  beings,  the  persons  of  thr 
Trinity,  angels,  devils,  saints,  and  martyrs.  It  was  absolutely 
necessary  that  some  comic  element  should  be  introduced  to 


76  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.         CHAP.  VIII. 

enliven  the  graver  scenes ;  and  this  was  supplied  by  represent- 
ing the  wicked  personages,  whether  human  or  spiritual,  of  the 
drama  as  placed  in  ludicrous  situations  ;  thus  the  Devil  generally 
played  the  part  of  the  clown  or  jester,  and  was  exhibited  in  a 
light  half  terrific  and  half  farcical ;  and  the  modern  puppet-play 
of  Punch,  with  his  struggles  with  the  Devil,  is  unquestionably 
a  direct  tradition  handed  down  from  these  ancient  miracles  in 
which  the  Evil  One  was  alternately  the  conqueror  and  the  victim 
of  the  human  Buffoon,  Jester,  or  Vice,  as  he  was  called. 

142.  Some   idea   may  be   formed   of  these  ancient  religious 
dramas  from  the  titles  of  some  of  them  which  have  been  pre- 
served.    The  Creation  of  the  World,  the  Fall  of  Man,  the  story 
of  Cain  and  Abel,  the  Crucifixion  of  Our  Lord,  the  Massacre  of 
the  Innocents,  the  Deluge,  besides  an  infinite  multitude  of  sub- 
jects taken  from  the  lives  and  miracles  of  the  saints ;  such  were 
their  materials.     They  are  generally  written  in  mixed  prose  and 
verse;  and,  though  abounding  in  anachronisms  and  absurdities 
both  of  character  and  dialogue,  they  sometimes  contain  passages 
of  simple  and  natural  pathos,  and  sometimes  scenes  of  genuine, 
if  not  very  delicate,  humor.    Thus,  in  the  Deluge,  a  comic  scene 
is  produced  by  the  refusal  of  Noah's  wife  to  enter  the  Ark,  and 
by  the  beating  which  justly  terminates  her  resistance  and  scold- 
ing ;  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  a  mystery  on  the  subject  of  the 
Sacrifice  of  Isaac,  contains  a  dialogue  of  much  pathos  and  beauty 
between  Abraham  and  his  son.     The  oldest  known  manuscript 
of  a  miracle-play  in  English  is  that  of  the  Harrowing  of  Hell, 
i.  e.  the  Conquering  of  Hell  by  Christ,  believed  to  have  been 
written   about  1350;  but    The  Play  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
which  is  as  old  at  least  as  the  year  1470,  is  more  artistically  con- 
structed than  any  other  of  the  kind. 

143.  These  Mysteries,  once  the  only  form  of  dramatic  repre- 
sentation, continued  to  be  popular  from  the  eleventh  to  the  end 
of  the  fourteenth  century,  when  they  were  supplanted  by  another 
kind  of  representation,  called  a  Morality.     In  a  sense,  indeed, 
the  Miracle-play  is  not  quite  extinct  even  yet;  in  the  retired  val- 
leys of  Catholic  Switzerland,  in  the  Tyrol,  and  in  some  little- 
visited  districts  of  Germany,  the  peasants  still  annually  perform 
dramatic  spectacles  representing  episodes  in  the  life  of  Christ. 
The  subjects  of  these  new  dramas,  which  became  popular  from 
about  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century,  instead  of  being 
purely  religious,  were  moral,  as  their  name  implies ;  and  the 


A.  D.  1119-1470.        MIRACLE  PLATS.  77 

ethical  lessons  were  conveyed  by  an  action  and  dramatis  per- 
sona of  an  abstract  or  allegorical  kind.  Thus,  instead  of  the 
Deity  and  his  angels,  the  Saints,  the  Patriarchs,  and  the  char- 
acters of  the  Old  and  New  Testament',  the  persons  who  figure  in 
the  Moralities  are  Every-Man,  a  general  type  or  expression  of 
humanity  —  Lusty  Juventus,  who  represents  the  follies  and 
weaknesses  of  youth  —  Good  Counsel,  Repentance,  Gluttony, 
Pride,  Avarice,  and  the  like.  The  action  was  in  general  exceed- 
ingly simple,  and  the  tone  grave  and  doctrinal,  though  of  course 
the  same  necessity  existed  as  before  for  the  introduction  of  comic 
scenes.  The  Devil  was  therefore  retained ;  and  his  battles  and 
scoldings  with  a  new  character,  the  Vice,  furnished  forth  many 
"  a  fit  of  mirth."  The  oldest  English  Moral-play  now  extant  is 
The  Castle  of  Perseverance,  which  was  written  about  1450.  It 
is  a  sort  of  dramatic  allegory  of  human  life,  representing  the 
many  contending  influences  that  surround  man  in  his  way 
through  the  world.  Another,  called  Lusty  Juventus,  contains 
a  vivid  and  even  humorous  picture  of  the  extravagance  and  de- 
bauchery of  a  young  heir,  surrounded  by  companions,  the  Vir- 
tues and  the  Vices;  ending  with  a  demonstration  of  the  inevi- 
table misery  and  punishment  which  follow  a  departure  from  the 
path  of  virtue  and  religion.  The  Morality  had  a  strong  tendency 
to  partake  of  the  character  of  the  court  masque,  in  which  the 
Elements,  the  Virtues,  the  Vices,  or  the  various  reigns  of  nature, 
were  introduced  either  to  convey  some  physical  or  philosophical 
instruction  in  the  guise  of  allegory,  or  to  compliment  a  king  or 
great  personage  on  a  festival  occasion ;  of  which  class  Skelton's 
masque  of  Magnificence  is  an  excellent  specimen. 

144.  Springing  from  the  Moralities,  and  bearing  some  general 
resemblance  to  them,  though  exhibiting  a  still  nearer  approach 
to  the  regular  drama,  are  the  Interludes,  a  class  of  compositions 
in  dialogue,  much  shorter  in  extent  and  more  merry  and  farcical 
in  subject;  which  were  exceedingly  fashionable  about  the  time 
when  the  great  controversy  was  raging  between  the  Catholic 
church  and  the  Reformed  religion  in  England.  A  prolific  author 
of  these  grotesque  and  merry  pieces  was  JOHN  HEYWOOD,  a  man 
of  learning  and  accomplishment,  who  seems  to  have  performed 
the  duties  of  a  sort  of  jester  at  the  court  of  Henry  VIII.  His 
Four  Ps,  his  Johan,  Tyb,  and  Sir  Jhan,  are  very  creditable 
productions,  and  exhibit  powers  of  humor  far  above  the  ordi- 
nary. 


78  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.         CHAP.  VIII. 

145.  The  national  taste  for  dramatic  entertainments  was  still 
further  fostered  by  those  pageants  which  were  so  often  employed 
to  gratify  the  vanity  of  citizens,  or  to  compliment  an  illustrious 
.  visitor.  These  either  simply  consisted  of  the  exhibition,  on  some 
lofty  platform,  in  the  porch  or  churchyard  of  a  cathedral,  in  the 
Town  Hall  or  over  the  city  gate,  of  a  number  of  figures  suitably 
dressed,  or  which  accompanied  their  action  with  poetical  decla- 
mation and  music;  and  necessarily  partook  in  all  the  changes 
of  taste  which  characterized  the  age :  the  Prophets  and  Saints 
who  welcomed  the  royal  stranger  in  the  thirteenth  century  with 
barbarous  Latin  hymns  were  gradually  supplanted  by  the  Virtues 
and  allegorical  qualities ;  and  these  in  their  turn,  when  the  Re- 
naissance had  disseminated  a  universal  passion  for  classical 
imagery,  made  way  for  the  Cupids,  the  Muses,  and  other  clas- 
sical personages,  whose  influence  has  continued  almost  to  the 
literature  of  our  own  time.  Such  spectacles  were  of  course  fre- 
quently exhibited  at  the  Universities,  where,  partly  from  the 
multitude  of  nations  composing  the  body  of  the  students,  who 
required  some  common  language  which  they  could  all  under- 
stand, and  partly  for  more  obvious  reasons,  the  Latin  tongue 
was  invariably  employed.  Soon  afterwards  the  fashion  became 
general  of  producing  Latin  plays  at  the  Universities  and  Inns 
of  Court;  and  a  large  number  of  pieces,  generally  written  upon 
the  models  of  Terence  and  Seneca,  were  produced  and  repre- 
sented, especially  in  the  great  outbreak  of  revolt  against  the  au- 
thority of  scholasticism  which  preceded  the  Reformation.  These 
dramas,  however,  do  not  appear  to  have  exercised  any  appre- 
ciable influence  on  the  growth  of  the  English  stage. 

14G.  We  have  now  traced  the  progress  of  the  Dramatic  art 
from  its  first  rude  infancy  in  England;  and  have  seen  how  every 
step  of  that  advance  removed  it  farther  and  farther  from  a  purely 
religious,  and  brought  it  closer  and  closer  to  a  profane  charac- 
ter. The  last  step  of  the  progress  was  the  creation  of  what  we 
now  understand  under  the  term  dramatic,  viz.,  the  scenic  repre- 
sentation, by  means  of  the  action  and  dialogue  of  human  per- 
sonages, of  some  event  of  history  or  social  life.  As  in  the  first 
appearance  of  this,  the  most  perfect  form  which  the  art  could 
attain,  the  influence  of  the  great  models  of  ancient  literature 
must  have  been  very  powerful,  dramatic  compositions  class 
themselves,  by  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  into  the  two  great 
categories  of  Tragedy  and  Comedy ;  and  even  borrow  from  the 


A.  D.  1495-1563.  JOHN  BALE.  79 

classical  models  details  of  an  unessential  kind,  as,  for  example, 
the  use  of  the  Chorus,  which,  originally  consisting  of  a  numer- 
ous body  of  performers,  was  gradually  reduced,  though  its  name 
and  functions  were  retained  to  a  certain  degree  by  the  old  Eng- 
lish playwrights,  to  a  single  individual,  as  in  several  of  Shak- 
speare's  dramas.  It  was  about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century 
that  a  considerable  activity  of  creation  was  first  perceptible  in 
this  department.  JOHN  BALE  (1495-1563),  the  author  of  many 
semi-polemical  plays,  partaking  in  some  measure  of  the  charac- 
ter of  the  Mystery,  the  Morality,  and  the  Interlude,  set  the  ex- 
ample of  extracting  materials  for  rude  historical  dramas  from 
the  chronicles  of  his  native  country.  His  drama  of  King  John 
occupies  an  intermediate  place  between  the  Moralities  and  his- 
torical plays.  But  the  earliest  composition  in  our  language  that 
possesses  all  the  requisites  of  a  regular  tragedy  is  the  play  of 
Gorboduc,  or  Ferrex  and  Porrcx,  written  by  Thomas  Sackville, 
Lord  Buckhurst  (the  principal  writer  in  the  "  Mirror  for  Magis- 
trates "),  and  Thomas  Norton,  and  acted  in  1562  for  the  enter- 
tainment of  Queen  Elizabeth  by  the  gentlemen  of  the  Inner 
Temple.  Its  subject  is  borrowed  from  the  old  half-mythological 
Chronicles  of  Britain ;  but  the  principal  event  is  similar  to  the 
story  of  Eteocles  and  Polynices;  and  the  treatment  exhibits 
strong  marks  of  classic  imitation.  The  dialogue  of  Gorboduc  is 
in  blank  verse,  which  is  regular  and  carefully  constructed ;  but 
it  is  totally  destitute  of  variety  of  pause,  and  consequently  is  a 
most  insufficient  vehicle  for  dramatic  dialogue.  The  sentence 
almost  invariably  terminates  with  the  line;  and  the  effect  of 
the  whole  is  insupportably  formal  and  heavy;  the  action  also  is 
oppressively  tragic,  being  a  monotonous,  dismal  succession  of 
slaughters,  ending  with  the  desolation  of  an  entire  kingdom. 
Another  work  of  a  similar  character  is  Damon  and  Pythias, 
acted  before  the  Queen  at  Christ  Church,  Oxford,  in  1566.  This 
play,  which  is  in  rhyme,  is  a  mixture  of  tragedv  and  comedy. 
Its  author  was  RICHARD  EDWARDS,  the  compiler  of  the  miscel- 
lany called  The  Paradise  of  Dainty  Devices,  He  also  wrote 
Palamon  and  Arcite,  the  beautiful  story  so  inimitably  treated 
by  Chaucer  in  The  Knighfs  Tale,  and  afterwards  in  Beaumont 
and  Fletcher's  romantic  play  The  Two  Noble  Kinsmen.*-  In 
1578  was  acted  Promos  and  Cassandra,  written  by  GEORGE 

*  It  is  next  to  certain  that  a  large  portion  of  this  play  came  from  Shakspcare's  pen. 


'80  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.         CHAP.  VIII. 

WHETSTONE,  chiefly  curious  as  having  furnished  the  subject  of 
Shakspeare's  Measure  for  Measure.  All  these  plays  are  marked 
by  a  general  similarity  of  style  and  treatment,  and  belong  to 
about  the  same  period. 

147.  In  the  department  of  Comedy  the  first  English  works  \vhich 
made  their  appearance  were  very  little  anterior  to  the  above  pieces, 
but  offer  a  most  striking  contrast  in  their  tone  and  treatment. 
The  earliest  work  of  this  kind  in  the  language  was  Ralph  Roys- 
ter  Doystcr,  acted  in  1551,  and  written  by  NICHOLAS  UDALL,  for 
a  long  time  Master  of  Eton  College.  This  was  followed,  about 
fourteen  years  later,  by  Gammer  Gurton's  Needle,  composed  by 
JOHN  STILL,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells,  who  had 
previously  been  Master  of  St.  John's  and  Trinity  Colleges  in 
Cambridge ;  by  the  students  of  which  society  it  was  probably 
acted.  Both  these  works  are  highly  curious  and  interesting, .not 
only  as  being  the  oldest  specimens  of  the  class  of  literature  to 
which  they  belong,  but  in  some  measure  from  their  intrinsic 
merit.  The  action  of  the  former  comedy,  which  is  unquestion- 
ably superior  to  the  other,  takes  place  in  London  ;  and  the  prin- 
cipal characters  are  a  rich  and  pretty  widow,  her  lover,  and  an 
insuppressible  suitor,  the  foolish  personage  who  gives  the  title 
to  the  play.  This  ridiculous  pretender  to  gayety  and  love  is 
betrayed  into  all  sorts  of  absurd  and  humiliating  scrapes ;  and 
the  piece  ends  with  the  return  of  the  favored  lover  from  a  voyage 
which  he  had  undertaken  in  a  momentary  pique.  The  manners 
represented  are  those  of  the  middle  class  of  the  period ;  and  the 
picture  given  of  London  citizen  life  in  the  middle  of  the  six- 
teenth century  is  curious,  animated,  and  natural.  The  language 
is  lively;  and  the  dialogue  is  carried  on  in  a  sort  of  loose  dog- 
gerel rhyme,  very  well  adapted  to  represent  comic  conversation. 
In  general  the  intrigue  of  this  drama  is  deserving  of  approba- 
tion ;  the  plot  is  well  imagined,  and  the  reader's  curiosity  well 
kept  alive.  Gammer  Gurton's  Needle  is  a  composition  of  a  much 
•lower  and  more  farcical  order.  The  scene  is  laid  in  the  hum- 
blest rustic  life,  and  all  the  dramatis  pcrsonce  belong  to  the 
uneducated  class.  The  principal  action  of  the  comedy  is  the 
sudden  loss  of  a  needle  with  which  Gammer  {Good  Mother} 
Gurton  has  been  mending  the  inexpressibles  of  her  man  Hodge, 
a  loss  comparatively  serious  when  needles  were  rare  and  costly. 
The  whole  intrigue  consists  in  the  search  instituted  after  this  un- 
fortunate little  implement,  which  is  at  last  discovered  by  Hodge 


A.  D.  1551-1576.    FIRST  ENGLISH  THEATRE.  81 

himself,  on  suddenly  sitting  down,  sticking  in  the  garment  which 
Gammer  Gurton  had  been  repairing. 

148.  As  yet  there  were  neither  regular  theatres  nor  recognized 
professional  actors,  the  place  of  the  first  being  supplied  by  town- 
halls,  court-yards  of  inns,  cock-pits,  noblemen's  dining-halls,  and 
other  places ;  that  of  the  second  by  amateurs  of  various  kinds. 
The  Court  plays  were  frequently  represented  by  the  children  of 
the  royal  chapel,  and  placed,  as  the  dramatic  profession  in  gen- 
eral was  for  a  long  time,  under  the  peculiar  supervision  of  the 
Office  of  the  Revels,  which  was  obliged  also  to  exercise  the  du- 
ties of  a  dramatic  censor.      Soon,   however,  bodies  of  actors, 
singers,  tumblers,  &c.,  calling  themselves  the  servants  of  some 
nobleman  whose  livery  they  wore,  were  formed;  and  were  fre- 
quently in  the  habit  of  wandering  about  the  country,  performing 
wherever  they  could  find  an  audience,  generally  in  some  one  of 
the  above-mentioned  places.     Protected  by  the  letters-patent  of 
the  livery  of  their  master  against  the  severe  laws  which  qualified 
strollers  as  vagabonds,  they  generally  began  their  proceedings 
by  begging  the  countenance  and  protection  of  the  authorities; 
and  the  accounts  of  the  ancient  municipal  bodies,  and  the  house- 
hold registers  of  the  great  families  of  former  times,  abound  in 
entries  of  permissions  given  to  such  strolling  parties  of  actors, 
tumblers,  and  musicians,  and  of  sums  granted  to  them  in  recom- 
pense of  their  exertions.     By  far  the  most  interesting  of  these 
entries  is  that  found  in  the  municipal  records  of  Stratford-upon- 
Avon  under  the  year  1569,  from  which  we  learn  that  in  this,  the 
year  of  office  of  Shakspeare's  father,  the  players  visited  Stratford 
for  the  first  time ;  and  gave  their  performances,  in  all  proba- 
bility, under  the  patronage  of  the  High-bailiff  of  the  town. 

149.  At  length,  in  the  year  1576,  James  Burbadge,  a  Warwick- 
shire man,  under  the  powerful  patronage  of  the  Earl  of  Leices- 
ter, built  in  the  precincts  of  the  Blackfriars,  where  Printing-house 
Square  now  stands,  the  earliest  English  theatre.     This  was  fol- 
lowed next  year  by  the  Curtain,  which  owed  its  existence  to  the 
same  enterprising  spirit;  and  these  adventures  proved  so  suc- 
cessful, that  at  one   time  during  this  period  London  and  its 
suburbs  contained  at  least  twelve  different  theatres,  of  various 
degrees  of  size  and  convenience.     Of  these  the  most  celebrated 
was  undoubtedly  the  Globe,  for  at  that  time  each  playhouse  had 
its  sign,  which  belonged  to  the  same  company  as  "The  Thea- 
tre," by  which  name  Burbadge's  original  playhouse  at  Black- 

6 


82  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.         CHAP.  VIII. 

friars  was  known.  It  was  called  the  Globe,  from  its  sign  bearing 
the  effigy  of  Atlas  supporting  the  globe,  with  the  motto  "  Totus 
Mxindus  agit  Histrionem,"  and  was  situated  on  the  Bankside  in 
Southwark,  near  the  Surrey  extremity  of  London  Bridge.  In 
fact,  the  great  majority  of  the  London  theatres  was  on  the  south- 
ern or  Surrey  bank  of  the  Thames,  in  order  to  be  out  of  the  juris- 
diction of  the  municipality  of  the  City,  which,  being  strongly 
infected  with  the  gloomy  doctrines  of  Puritanism,  carried  on 
against  the  players  and  the  playhouses  a  constant  war.  Some 
of  these  theatres  were  cockpits  or  arenas  for  bull-baiting  and 
bear-baiting  (the  word  fit  still  preserves  the  memory  of  the 
former  of  these)  ;  and  they  were  all  very  poor  and  squalid,  as 
compared  with  the  magnificent  theatres  of  the  present  day,  re- 
taining in  their  form  and  arrangement  many  traces  of  the 
ancient  model  —  the  inn-yard.  Most  of  the  theatres  were  entirely 
uncovered,*  excepting  over  the  stage,  where  a  thatched  roof  pro- 
tected the  actors  from  the  weather;  and  this  thatched  roof  was, 
in  1613,  the  cause  of  the  total  destruction^  the  Globe,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  wadding  of  a  chamber,  or  small  cannon,  lodging  in 
it,  fired  during  the  representation  of  Shakspeare's  Henry  VIII. 
The  boxes  or  rooms,  as  they  were  then  styled,  were  of  course  ar- 
ranged nearly  as  in  the  present  day;  but  the  musicians,  instead 
of  being  placed,  as  now,  in  the  orchestra,  or  place  between  the 
pit  and  the  stage,  were  established  in  a  lofty  gallery  over  the 
scene. 

150.  The  most  remarkable  peculiarities  of  the  ancient  English 
theatres  were  the  total  absence  of  painted  or  movable  scenery, 
and  the  necessity  that  female  parts  should  be  performed  by  men 
or  boys,  actresses  being  as  yet  unknown.  Both  these  improve- 
ments were  introduced  soon  after  the  Restoration,  when  the 
golden  prime  of  the  stage  had  passed  away  for  ever.  A  few 
traverses,  or  screens  of  cloth  or  tapestry,  gave  the  actors  the 
opportunity  of  making  their  exits  and  entrances;  a  placard, 
bearing  the  name  of  Rome,  Athens,  London,  or  Florence,  as  the 
case  might  be,  intimated  to  the  audience  the  place  of  action. 
Besides  these  they  employed  certain  typical  articles  of  furniture  : 
a  bed  on  the  stage  suggested  a  bedroom ;  a  table  covered  with 

*  The  Blucltfriars  Theatre,  which  was  much  smaller  than  the  Globe,  was  entirely  roofed  over; 
.the  company  were  in  the  habit  of  performing  there  in  the  winter,  whereas  during  the  summer 
thair  representations  were  given  on  the  liaukside,  the  iuclcmeiicy  of  the  weather  being  then  lesi 
'lacouveiiicut. 


A.  D.  L'576-1642.  THE  DRAMA.  83 

tankards,  a  tavern  ;  a  gilded  chair  surmounted  by  a  canopy,  and 
called  a  state,  a  palace ;  an  altar,  a  church ;  and  the  like.  A 
permanent  wooden  construction,  like  a  scaffold  or  a  high  wall, 
erected  at  the  back  of  the  stage,  represented  an  infinity  of  ob- 
jects according  to  the  requirements  of  the  piece,  such  as  the 
wall  of  a  castle  or  besieged  city,  the  outside  of  a  house,  as  when 
a  dialogue  is  to  take  place  between  one  person  at  a  window  and 
another  on  the  exterior ;  and  it  enabled  one  of  the  dramatis  per- 
soiHE  to  overhear  others  without  being  himself  seen. 

151.  In  one  department,  however,  of  the  stage-economy  the 
companies  of  the  early  theatre  were  singularly  lavish  —  that  of 
costume,    which   was    invariably    costly    and    splendid.     They 
differed  from  the  present  usage  in  employing  the  style  of  dress 
of  the  time  (wit-h  the  exception  of  the  Prologue,  who  appeared 
in    the  long  flowing  robe  of  the  middle   ages),  but  this  being 
highly  picturesque  did  not  at  all  impair  the  effect,  or  mar  the 
illusion,     But  this  employment  of  the  contemporary  costume  in 
plays  whose  action  was  supposed  to  take  place  in  Greece,  Rome, 
or  Persia,  naturally  led  into  amazing  anachronisms  and  absur- 
dities,   such  as   arming  the    assassins   of  Caesar   with   Spanish 
rapiers,    or   furnishing    Carthaginian    senators    with   watches; 
which    after   all  did  not  strike  in  a  very  offensive  manner  the 
mixed  and  uncritical  spectators  of  those  times.     Certain  conven- 
tional attributes  were  always  associated  with  particular  super- 
natural personages,  such  as  angels,  devils,  ghosts,  and  so  on. 
Thus  a  "  roobe  for  to  goo  invisibell"  is  one  of  the  items  in  an 
old  list  of  properties ;   and  in  all  probability  the  spectral  armor 
of  the  Ghost  in  Hamlet  was  to  be  found  in  the  wardrobe  of  the 
ancient  theatres.     The  curtain  is  supposed  to  have  opened  per- 
pendicularly in  the  middle;  and  besides  this  principal  curtain 
there  seem  to  have  been  others  occasionally  drawn  so  as  to  divide 
the  stage  into  several  apartments,  and  withdrawn  to  exhibit  one 
of  the  characters  as  in  a  tent  or  closet. 

152.  Though  several  of  the  companies  of  actors  were  under 
the  immediate  patronage  of  the  sovereign,  of  different  members 
of  the  royal  family,  and  other  great  personages  of  the  realm,   it 
was  long  before  any  of  our  sovereigns  deigned  to  witness  their 
performances  in  the  theatres.     But  their  patronage   protected 
them  against  interlopers  and  rivals,  and  above  all  against  the 
implacable  hostility  of  the  Puritanical  municipality  of  London. 
And  they  were  frequently  summoned  to  furnish  entertainment 
to  their  patrons  at  Court. 


84  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.          CHAP.  VIII. 

153.  The  performance,  which  generally  began  at  three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  was  announced  by  three  flourishes  of  a  trumpet, 
and  commenced  with  the  declamation  of  the  Prologue,  at  first 
by   the  author   himself  arrayed  in  the  poetical  costume  of  the 
middle   ages,    and  subsequently  by  a  proxy,  who  assumed  the 
same  garb.     Black  drapery  hung  round  the  stage  intimated  the 
performance  of  a  tragedy ;  and  rushes  were  strewn  over  the  floor 
to  enable  the  fine  gentlemen  who  patronized  the   company  to 
take  their  seats  upon  it  without  fear  of  the  consequences.     Dan- 
cing and  singing  took  place  between  the  acts ;  and,  as  a  rule,  a 
jig  wound  up  the  entertainment.     This  was   a  kind  of  comic 
ballad,    professedly  an  improvisation,  sung  by  a  clown,   with 
accompaniment  of  tabor  and  pipe  and  farcical  dancing.     A  flag 
remained  floating  at  the  summit  of  the  theatre  during  the  entire 
performance, 

154.  The  social  position  of  an  actor  and  playwright,  even  at 
the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  was  far  from  being  an  enviable 
one;  it  was  still  regarded  by  many  as  scarcely  a  shade  removed 
above  that  of  the  "  rogues  and  vagabonds"  of  former  genera- 
tions ;  but  this  drawback  seems  to  have  been  fully  compensated 
for  by   its   extraordinary  profits.     That  these  were   unusually 
great  is  proved  not  only  by  historical  evidence,  such  as  the  fre- 
quent allusions  made  by  the  over-rigid  preachers  and  moralists 
of  the  day  to  the  pride,  luxury,  and  magnificence  in  dress  of  the 
successful  performers,  but  also  by  the  rapidity  with  which  many 
of  them,    as  Shakspeare,  Burbadge,  and  Alleyn,  amassed  con- 
siderable fortunes. 

155.  Notwithstanding  this  social  discredit  that  in  these  times 
attached  to  the  actor's  profession,  the  Drama  had  reached  such 
popularity,  and  the  employment  was  so  lucrative,  that  it  soon 
became  the  common  receptacle  of  irregular  genius  in  search  of  a 
livelihood.     Indeed  nothing  is  more  remarkable  than  the  mar- 
vellously  rapid   growth  of  this   department  of  our   literature, 
which  indeed  passed  from  infancy  to  manhood  in  a  single  genera- 
tion.    Not  much  more  than  twenty  years  after  the  appearance 
of  the  first  rude  tragedy,  our  Theatre  entered   upon  the  most 
glorious  period  of  its  history,  bursting  forth  into  a  majesty  and 
strength  without  parallel  perhaps  in  the  literature  of  any  coun- 
try.    This  was  mainly  the  work  of  a  small  band  of  poets,  seven 
in  number,  whose  careers  all  began  about  the  same  time,  and 
who  were  in  all  essential  respects  the  creators  of  the  English 


A.  D.  1576-1642.  THE  DRAMA.  85 

stage,  Most  of  them  were  men  of  liberal  education,  but  of  dis- 
solute lives,  whom  the  new  profession  naturally  attracted  into 
its  ranks ;  one  or  two  left  rustic  homes  to  seek  their  fortunes  in 
the  great  world  of  London,  and  were  lured  by  the  prospect  of 
swift  gain  into  the  same  employment;  and  all  possessed  abilities 
of  a  very  high  order,  though  but  one  of  the  very  highest.  This 
one,  WILLIAM  SHAKSPEARE,  is  the  giant  of  the  group,  beside 
whom  the  others  dwindle  into  comparative  insignificance,  and 
but  for  whom  they  would  have  sunk  into  utter  oblivion.  It  is  usual 
indeed  to  call  these  men  —  CHAPMAN,  LYLY,  PEELE,  GREENE, 
MARLOWE,  and  KYD — predecessors  of  Shakspeare,  but  as  none 
of  them  preceded  him  by  more  than  a  year  or  two,  and  some 
actually  followed  him,  whilst  all  were  in  a  sense  fellow- workers 
with  him  for  a  time,  it  would  seem  more  proper  to  style  them 
the  contemporaries  of  his  early  period.  But  intemperance  and 
debauchery  carried  off  many  of  them  before  their  great  associ- 
ate reached  the  maturity  of  his  powers,  and  hence  they  are 
generally  placed  earlier  in  the  roll  of  our  dramatists, 

156.  Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  peculiarity  of  the  dramatic 
profession  at  this  period  was  the  frequent  combination,  in  one 
and  the  same  person,  of  the  qualities  of  player  and  dramatic 
author.  This  circumstance  obviously  exerted  a  mighty  influence 
in  modifying  the  dramatic  productions  of  the  time ;  and  it  pow- 
erfully contributed  to  give  to  them  that  strong  and  individual 
character  which  renders  them  so  inimitable.  A  dramatic  writer, 
however  great  his  genius,  unacquainted  practically  with  the 
mechanism  of  the  stage,  will  frequently  fail  in  giving  to  his 
work  that  directness  and  vivacity,  that  dramatic  effect  which  is 
the  essential  element  of  popular  success.  Thus  in  the  French 
drama  Moliere  succeeded  where  Racine  and  Corneille  failed 
utterly;  himself  a  skilful  actor,  as  well  as  an  unequalled  painter 
of  comic  character,  he  was  able  to  give  to  his  pieces  the  element 
of  scenic  effect;  an  element  in  which  the  others,  despite  their 
perhaps  higher  literary  qualities,  having  no  practical  acquaint- 
ance with  the  stage,  were  entirely  deficient.  Though  not  an 
unmixed  benefit  —  coarseness,  buffoonery,  bombast,  and  bad 
taste,  were  perhaps  unavoidable  under  the  circumstances  —  at 
the  same  time  it  is  the  reason  why  the  writings  of  these  actor- 
authors  invariably  possess  intense  dramatic  interest,  and  an 
effectiveness  which  literary  merit  alone  could  never  give.  The 
careers  of  these  men,  at  least  in  their  commencements  and  gen- 


86  ENGLISH  LITERATU11E.         CHAP.  VIII. 

eral  outlines,  were  the  same.  They  attached  themselves,  in  the 
double  quality  of  actors  and  poets,  to  one  of  the  numerous 
companies  then  existing;  and  after  a  short  apprenticeship  passed 
in  rewriting  and  rearranging  plays  already  exhibited  to  the  pub- 
lic, they  gradually  rose  to  original  works  written  either  alone  or 
in  partnership  with  some  brother  playwright.  There  being  no 
dramatic  copyright  at  this  time,  the  troops  of  actors  had  the  very 
strongest  motive  for  taking  every  precaution  that  their  pieces 
should  not  be  printed,  publication  instantly  annihilating  their 
monopoly  and  allowing  rival  companies  to  profit  by  their  labors  ; 
and  this  is  the  reason  why  comparatively  so  few  of  the  dramas 
of  this  period,  in  spite  of  their  unequalled  merit  and  their  great 
popularity,  were  committed  to  the  press  during  the  lives  at  least 
of  their  authors.  It  also  explains  the  singularly  careless  execu- 
tion of  such  copies  as  wrere  printed,  these  having  been  given  to 
the  public  in  many  cases  surreptitiously,  and  in  direct  contraven- 
tion to  the  wishes  and  interests  of  the  author. 

157.  A  -short  sketch  of  the  subordinate  members  of  this 
remarkable  group  of  playwrights  will  now  be  given.  JOHN  LYLY 
(1553-1601  ?)  composed  several  court  plays  and  pageants,  of 
which  most  were  written  upon  classical,  or  rather  mythological 
subjects,  as  the  story  of  Endymion,  Sappho  and  Phaon,  and 
Alexander  and  Campaspe.  He  has  a  rich  and  fantastic  imagi- 
nation ;  and  his  writings  exhibit  genius  and  elegance,  though 
strongly  tinctured  with  a  peculiar  kind  of  affectation  with  which 
he  infected  the  language  of  the  Court,  the  aristocracy,  and 
even  to  a  considerable  degree  literature  itself,  till  it  fell  under 
the  ridicule  of  Shakspeare.  This  consisted  in  a  kind  of_exag- 
gerated  vivacity  of  imagery  and  expression ;  the  remotest  and 
most  unexpected  analogies  were  sought  for,  and  crowded  into 
every  sentence.  The  reader  may  form  some  notion  of  this  mode 
of  writing  (which  was  called  Euphuism,  from  Lyly's  once 
fashionable  book  which  appeared  in  two  parts,  the  first  entitled 
EupJiues:  The  Anatomy  of  Wit,  the  second  Euphues  and  Ins 
England},  by  consulting  the  caricature  of  it  which  Scott  has 
introduced  in  the  character  of  the  courtier  Sir  Piercy  Shafton  in 
The  Monastery.  The  first  part  of  the  Euphues  appeared  in 
1578  or  1579.  Lyly  was  a  man  of  considerable  classical  ac- 
quirements, and  had  been  educated  at  Oxford.  His  lyrics  are 
extremely  graceful  and  harmonious ;  and  even  as  a  playwright 
his  merits  are  rather  lyrical  than  dramatic. 


A.D.  1552-1598.    KTD.     GREENE.    MARLOWE.  87 

158.  GEORGE  PEELE  (1552-1598?),  like  Lyly,  had  received  a 
liberal  education  at  Oxford.     He  was  one  of  Shakspeare's    fel- 
low-actors and  fellow-shareholders  in  the  Blackfriars  Theatre. 
His   earliest   work,    The  Arraignment   of  Part's,    was   printed 
anonymously  in    1584.      His   inost   celebrated    dramatic   works 
were  the  David  and  Bethsabe,  and  Absalom,  in  which  there  are 
great  richness   and  beauty  of  language,  and  occasional  indica- 
tions of  a  high  order  of  pathetic  and  elevated  emotion.     His 
Edward  I,  is  supposed  to  be  our  first  historical   play,  and  is, 
though  monotonous,  declamatory,  and  stiff,  in  some  sense  the 
forerunner  of  Richard  II.  andflenry  V. 

159.  THOMAS  KYD,  the  "  sporting  Kyd  "  of  Ben  Jonson,  lived 
about  the  same  time,  and  was  possibly  the  author  of  the  famous 
play  called   Jeronimo,  to  which,  in   consequence  of  the  many 
recastings  it   received,   so   many  authors  have   been  ascribed. 
The    Spanish  Tragedy,  which   is   a  continuation   of  Jeronimo, 
was  undoubtedly  his ;   and   this  fact  is  now  believed  to  be  fatal 
to  his  claim  to  the  authorship  of  the  more  remarkable  work. 

100.  ROBERT  GREENE  (1560-1592)  was  a  Cambridge  man,  and 
the  author  of  a  multitude  of  tracts  and  pamphlets  on  the  most  mis- 
cellaneous subjects.  Sometimes  they  were  tales,  often  translated 
or  expanded  from  the  Italian  novelists;  sometimes  amusing  ex- 
posures of  the  various  arts  of  cony-catching,  i.  e.,  cheating  anc- 
swindling,  practised  at  that  time  in  London,  and  in  which,  it  is 
to  be  feared,  Greene  was  personally  not  unversed ;  sometimes 
moral  confessions,  like  the  Groats^vorth  of  Wit,  or  Never  too 
Late,  purporting  to  be  a  warning  to  others  against  the  con- 
sequences of  unbridled  passions.  The  only  dramatic  work  we 
need  specify  of  Greene's  was  George-a-  Green,  the  legend  of  an 
old  English  popular  hero,  recounted  with  much  occasional 
vivacity  and  humor. 

161.  But  by  far  the  most  powerful  genius  among  them  was 
CHRISTOPHER  MARLOWE  (1564-1593),  who  was  born  at  Canter- 
bury in  1564.  On  leaving  the  University  of  Cambridge  he  joined 
a  troop  of  actors,  among  whom  he  was  remarkable  for  a  vice 
and  debauchery  even  exceeding  professional  limits;  and  he  was 
strongly  suspected  by  his  contemporaries  of  being  an  Atheist. 
His  career  was  as  short  as  it  was  disgraceful :  he  was  stabbed  in 
the  head  with  his  own  dagger,  which  he  had  drawn  in  a  disrepu- 
table scuffle  with  a  disreputable  antagonist,  in  a  disreputable 


88  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.         CHAP.  VIII. 

place ;  and  he  died  of  this  wound  at  the  age  of  thirty.  His 
•works  are  not  numerous;  but  they  are  strongly  distinguished 
from  those  of  preceding  and  contemporary  dramatists  by  an  air 
of  astonishing  power,  energy,  and  elevation  —  an  elevation,  it 
is  true,  which  is  sometimes  exaggerated  into  bombast,  and  an 
energy  which  occasionally  degenerates  into  extravagance.  His 
first  work  was  the  tragedy  of  Tamburlaine  ;  and  the  rants  of  the 
declamation  in  this  piece  furnished  rich  materials  for  satire  and 
caricature;  but  in  spite  of  this  bombast  the  piece  contains  many 
passages  of  great  power  and  beauty.  Marlowe's  best  work  is 
iricontestably  the  drama  of  Faustus,  (71}  founded  upon  the  very 
same  popular  legend  which  Goethe  adopted  as  the  groundwork 
of  his  tragedy;  but  the  point  of  view  taken  by  Marlowe  is  far 
simpler  than  that  of  Goethe;  and  though  the  German  poet's 
work  is  on  the  whole  vastly  superior,  there  is  certainly  no  pas- 
sage in  the  tragedy  of  Goethe  in  which  terror,  despair,  and  re- 
morse are  painted  with  such  a  powerful  hand  as  the  great  closing 
scene  of  Marlowe's  piece,  when  Faustus,  after  the  twenty-four 
years  of  sensual  pleasure  which  were  stipulated  for  in  his  pact 
with  the  Evil  One,  is  waiting  for  the  inevitable  arrival  of  the 
Fiend  to  claim  his  bargain.  The  tragedy  of  the  Jew  of  Malta, 
though  inferior  to  Fatistus,  is  characterized  by  similar  merits 
and  defects.  The  hero,  Barabas,  is  the  type  of  the  Jew  as  he 
appeared  to  the  rude  and  bigoted  imaginations  of  the  fifteenth 
century  —  a  monster  half  terrific,  half  ridiculous,  impossibly  rich, 
inconceivably  bloodthirsty,  cunning,  and  revengeful,  the  bug- 
bear of  an  age  of  ignorance  and  persecution.  The  intense  ex- 
pression of  his  rage,  however,  his  triumph  and  his  despair,  give 
occasion  for  many  noble  bursts  of  Marlowe's  powerful  declama- 
tion. The  tragedy  of  Edward  II. ,  (70)  which  was  the  last  of 
this  great  poet's  works,  shows  that  in  some  departments  of  his 
art,  and  particularly  in  that  of  moving  terror  and  pity,  he  might, 
had  he  lived,  have  become  no  insignificant  rival  of  Shakspeare 
himself.  The  scene  of  the  assassination  of  the  unhappy  king  is 
worked  up  to  a  very  lofty  pitch  of  tragic  pathos. 

162.  Marlowe  is  honorably  known  in  other  departments  of 
poetry  also.  His  two  Sestiads  of  Hero  and  Leander,  and  his 
translation  of  the  first  book  of  Lucan,  are  respectively  written 
in  the  heroic  couplet  and  in  blank  verse,  and  are  not  without 
merit ;  whilst  his  charming  poem  of  The  Passionate  Shepherd 


A.  D.  1557-1634.        GEORGE   CHAPMAN.  89 

had  the  rare  distinction  of  being  quoted  by  Shakspeare,  and  of 
being  answered  in  "The  Nymph's  Reply"  by  Sir  Walter  Ra- 
leigh. 

1G3.  The  merits  of  GEORGE  CHAPMAN  (1557-1634)  as  a  trans- 
lator* have  so  entirely  eclipsed  his  dramatic  fame,  that  but  few 
of  his  plays  are  now  ever  referred  to.  His  Bussy  d'Amboise  is 
perhaps  the  best  known  of  these. 


90  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  IX. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

SHAKSPEARE. 

1G4.  WILLIAM  SHAKSPEARE  (1564-1616)  was  born,  probably 
on  the  23d  of  April,  1564,  in  the  small  county  town  of  Stratford- 
on-Avon,  Warwickshire,  and  was  baptized  on  the  26th  of  the 
same  month.  His  father,  John  Shakspeare,  in  all  probability  a 
fellmonger,  wool-dealer,  and  glover,  had  married  in  1557  an 
heiress  of  ancient  and  even  knightly  descent,  Isabella  Arden  or 
Arderne.  whose  family  had  figured  in  the  courtly  and  warlike 
annals  of  preceding  reigns ;  and  thus  in  the  veins  of  the  great 
poet  of  humanity  ran  blood  derived  from  both  the  aristocratic 
and  popular  portions  of  the  community.  Isabella  Arderne  had 
brought  her  husband  in  dowry  a  small  freehold  property;  but 
this  acquisition  seems  to  have  tempted  him  to  engage,  without 
experience,  in  agricultural  pursuits,  which  ended  disastrously  in 
his  being  obliged  at  different  times  to  mortgage  and  sell,  not 
only  his  farm,  bvit  even  one  of  the  houses  in  Stratford  of  which 
he  had  been  owner.  He  at  last  retained  nothing  save  that  small, 
but  now  venerable  dwelling,  consecrated  to  all  future  ages  by 
being  the  spot  where  the  greatest  of  poets  first  saw  the  light. 
That  John  Shakspeare  had  been  originally  in  flourishing  cir- 
cumstances is  amply  proved  by  his  having  long  been  one  of  the 
Aldermen  of  Stratford,  and  his  having  served  the  office  of 
Bailiff  or  Mayor  in  1569.  His  distresses  appear  to  have  become 
severe  in  1579;  an<^  ne  was  unable  to  extricate  himself  from  his 
manifold  embarrassments,  until  his  son  had  raised  himself  to  a 
position  of  competence,  and  even  of  affluence. 

1G5.  That  William  Shakspeare  could  have  derived  even  the 
most  elementary  instruction  from  his  parents  is  impossible  ;  for 
we  know  that  neither  John  nor  Isabella  Shakspeare  could  wj;ite 
—  an  accomplishment,  however,  which,  it  should  be  remarked, 
was  comparatively  rare  in  Elizabeth's  reign.  But  there  existed 
at  that  time,  and  there  exists  at  the  present  day,  in  the  borough 
of  Stratford,  one  of  those  endowed  "free  grammar-schools"  in 


A.  D.  1564-1G16.  SHAKSPEAEE.  91 

which  provision  is  always, made  for  the  children  of  the  burgesses 
of  the  town ;  and  it  is  inconceivable  that  John  Shakspeare, 
Alderman  and  Past  Bailiff  as  he  was,  should'  have  neglected  to 
avail  himself  of  so  useful  a  privilege.  This  circumstance, 
coupled  with  the  extensive  though  irregular  reading  of  which 
his  works  give  evidence,  and  with  the  vague  tradition  that  he 
had  been  "  in  his  youth  a  schoolmaster  in  the  country,"  renders 
it  more  than  probable  that  the  young  poet  enjoyed  a  higher  de- 
gree of  culture  than  some  would  give  him  credit  for. 

1G6.  The  most  celebrated  and  romantic  of  the  legends  con- 
nected with  his  early  life  is  that  which  represents  his  youth  as 
wild  and  irregular;  and  in  particular  recounts  his  deer-stealing 
expedition,  in  company  with  other  riotous  young  fellows,  to  Sir 
Thomas  Lucy's  park  at  Charlcote,  near  Stratford.  For  this 
escapade  he  is  said  to  have  been  seized,  brought  before  the  in- 
dignant justice  of  the  peace,  and  treated  with  so  much  severity 
by  Sir  Thomas,  that  he  revenged  himself  by  affixing  a  doggerel 
pasquinade  to  the  gates  of  Charlcote.  At  this  the  wrath  of  the 
magistrate  is  said  to  have  blazed  so  high  that  Shakspeare  was 
obliged  to  escape  to  London ;  where,  continues  the  legend,  the 
young  poet  was  reduced  to  earn  his  livelihood  by  holding  horses 
at  the  doors  of  the  theatres,  until,  "his  pleasant  wit"  attracting 
the  notice  of  the  actors,  he  ultimately  obtained  access  "  behind 
the  scenes,"  and  by  degrees  became  a  celebrated  actor  and  valu- 
able dramatic  author.  But,  though  the  deer-stealing  story  may 
very  possibly  be  not  altogether  devoid  of  foundation,  his  leaving 
Stratford  and  embracing  the  theatrical  career  are  to  be  explained 
in  a  different  and  much  less  improbable  manner.  It  is  quite 
certain  that  he  left  his  native  town  in  1586,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
t\vo  ;  but  the  motive  for  this  step  was  in  all  probability  supplied 
by  his  marriage,  contracted  in  1582,  when  he  was  only  eighteen, 
with  Anne  Hathaway,  the  daughter  of  a  small  farmer,  little 
above  the  rank  of  a  laboring  man,  who  resided  at  the  hamlet  of 
Shottery,  about  two  miles  from  Stratford.  Anne  Hathaway  was 
seven  years  and  a  half  older  than  her  boy-husband ;  and  tha 
marriage  appears  to  have  been  pressed  on  with  eager  haste, 
probably  by  the  relatives  of  the  bride.  Indeed  the  whole  of  this 
important  episode  in  the  poet's  life  bears  strong  trace  of  a  not 
over-reputable  family  mystery.  The  fruits  of  this  union  were, 
first  a  daughter  Susanna,  the  poet's  favorite  child,  born  in  1583, 
and  in  the  following  year  twins,  Judith  and  Hamnet.  The  lat- 


92  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  IX. 

ter,  the  poet's  only  son,  died  at  twelve  years  of  age ;  his  two 
daughters  survived  him.  After  these  he  had  no  more  children ; 
and  there  are  several  facts  which  seem  to  point  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  married  life  of  the  poet  was  not  marked  b*y  that  love 
and  confidence  which  are  the  usual  result  of  well-considered  and 
well-assorted  unions.  During  the  long  period  of  his  residence 
in  London,  his  wife  seems  to  have  never  resided  with  him;  bit- 
ter allusion  to  marriages  like  his  own  are  frequent  in  his  works; 
and  in  his  will  he  leaves  her  only  "  his  second-best  bed,  with 
furniture,"  —  the  significance  of  which  slighting  bequest,  how- 
ever, is  somewhat  diminished  by  the  fact  that  as  his  property 
was  chiefly  freehold,  she  was  entitled  to  dower. 

167.  Concerning  the  boyhood  and  youth  of  the  great  painter 
of  nature  and  of  man  we  know  little  or  nothing.     It  is  not  im- 
probable that  at  one  period  of  his  youth  he  had  been  placed  in 
the  office   of  some  country  practitioner  of  the  law :  in  »all  his 
works  he  shows  an  extraordinary  knowledge  of  the  technical 
language  of  that  profession,  and  frequently  draws  his  illustra- 
tions from  its  vocabulary.   Besides,  such  terms  as  he  employs  he 
almost  always  employs  correctly ;  which  would  hardly  be  possible 
but  to  one  who  had  been  professionally  versed  in  them. 

168.  However  this  may  be,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  Shak- 
speare,  now  the  father  of  three  children,  and  without  means  of 
support,  determined  upon  the  great   step  of  leaving  Stratford 
altogether,  and  embarking  on  the  wide  ocean  of  London  theat- 
rical life.    The  motives  that  induced  him  to  adopt  this  profession 
are  not  far  to  seek.     The  companies  of  actors  were  always  glad 
to  enlist  among  them  such  men  of  ready  genius  as  could  render 
themselves  useful  as  performers  and  dramatists ;  they  had  often 
visited  Stratford  in  their  summer  peregrinations;  and  the  great- 
est tragic   actor  of  that   day,  Richard  Burbadge,  was  a  War- 
wickshire man,  whilst  Thomas  Greene,  a  distinguished  member 
of  the  troop  of  the  Globe,  then  the  first  theatre  in  London,  was 
a   native  of  Stratford.     With  this   company,   therefore,  it  was 
natural  for  the  young   adventurer  to   throw  in  his  lot.     Like 
other  young  men  of  that  time,  he  rendered  himself  useful  to  his 
company  in  the  double  capacity  of  actor  and  arranger  of  pieces  ; 
and  his  professional  career  differed  from  thatof  Marlowe,  Jonson, 
and  others,  in  no  respect  save  in  the  industry  and  success  with 
which  he  pursued  it,  and  the  prudence  with  which  he  accumu- 
lated its  pecuniary  results.      He  began,  in  all  probability,  by 


A.  D.  1564-1616.  SHAESPEARE.  93 

adapting  old  plays  to  the  exigencies  of  his  theatre,  and  thus  ac- 
quired that  consummate  knowledge  of  stage  effect  which  distin- 
guished him,  and  which  first  struck  out  the  spark  of  that 
inimitable  dramatic  genius  which  places  him  above  all  other 
poets  in  the  world.  His  professional  career  continued  from  1586 
to  his  retirement,  which  probably  took  place  in  1611,  a  period  of 
twenty-five  years,  embracing  the  splendor  of  his  youth  and  the 
vigor  of  his  manhood. 

169.  Though  many  attempts  have  been  made  to  establish  the 
dates  and  sequence  of  Shakspeare's  thirty-seven  plays,  none  of 
them  even  approaches  to  a  satisfactory  chronology  of  his  dra- 
matic history.     The  notices  of  the  first  performances,  the  scanty 
historical  allusions,  the  order  of  their  sequence  in  the  first  com- 
plete edition  of  the  plays,  that  of  1623,  and  internal  evidence 
itself,  founded  upon  shades  of  style  and  a  higher  or  lower  degree 
of  artistic  perfection  in  treatment,  are  alike  inadequate  to  the 
solution  of  the  great  problem.     From  the   employment  of  all 
these  methods  combined  we   may  indeed  sometimes  class  the 
plays  of  Shakspeare  into  certain  great,  but  not  very  accurately- 
marked  periods ;  but  we  can  never  hope  to  attain  anything  like  an 
exact  chronolgical  order.  During  the  whole  of  his  literary  career 
our  great  dramatic  master-workman  in  all  likelihood  continued  to 
adapt  and  arrange  old  plays  as  well  as  to  compose  original  pieces ; 
which  consideration  will  explain  the  extraordinary  difference  in 
point  of  merit,  literary  as  well  as  theatrical,  between  such  speci- 
mens of  the  most  consummate  perfection  both  in  style  and  con- 
struction as  Hamlet  (81,  82~)  and  Othello,  and  such  strikingly 
inferior  compositions  as  Titus  Andronicus  and  parts  of  Henry  VI. 

170.  The  company  to  which  Shakspeare  belonged  possessed 
two  theatres,  —  the  Globe  in  Southwark,  and  The  Theatre  in 
Blackfriars,  of  which  an  account  has  already  been  given  (see  p. 
Si).     This  company  was  undoubtedly  the  most  respectable  as 
•well  as  the  most  prosperons  of  the  then  theatres ;  and  partly  by 
prudently  avoiding   to   give  offence  by  political    allusion,  and 
partly  by  securing    powerful   protection  at  Court  —  as,  for  in- 
stance, that  of  Lord-Keeper  Egerton  and  the  accomplished  Earl 
of  Southampton,  the  liberal  patron  and  personal  friend  of  Shak- 
speare himself,  —  this  society  enjoyed  a  freedom  from  the  inter- 
ference of  the  authorities  never  conceded  to  the  others,  and  many 
rare  privileges  as  well.     In  this   company  our  great  dramatist 
seems  to  have  reached  a  high,  though  not  the  highest,  position. 


94  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  IX. 

171.  That  he  was  profoundly  acquainted  with   the  theoretic 
principles  of  his  art  is  clear  from  the  inimitable  "  directions  to 
the  players  "  put  into  the  mouth  of  Hamlet,  which,  in  incredibly 
few  words,  contain  its  whole  system.     We  .have  good  authority 
for  supposing  that  he  acted  the  Ghost  in  his  tragedy  of  Ham- 
let :  (81)  the  secondary,  but  graceful  and  touching  character  of 
Adam,  the  faithful  old  servant,  in  his  As  Ton  Like  It ;  (72)  the 
deeply  pathetic  impersonation  of  grief  and  despair  in  the  popular 
tragedy  of  Hieronymo  ;  and  the  sensible  citizen,  Old  Knowell, 
in  Ben  Jonson's  Every  Man  In  His  Humor.     Such  parts,  it  is 
plain,  belong  to  a  particular  and  perhaps  secondary  type ;  and  a 
contemporary  reference  ascribes  to  him  some  degree  of  excellence 
in  the  performance  of  kingly  characters.      There    is  reason  to 
believe  that  Shakspeare,  like  Byron,  labored  under  the  personal 
defect  of  lameness,   to  which   allusion   is    made  in   two  of  his 
sonnets;   and  this  in  itself  would  fully  account  for  his  imperfect 
success  as  an  actor.     In  any  case  it  was  Richaj-d  Burbadge  who 
was  the  original  and  most  popular  performer  of  his  great  tragic 
creations,  —  Richard  III.,  Hamlet,  Othello,  and  the  like. 

172.  Shakspeare's  first  original  poems  were  not  dramatic;  he 
must  be  regarded  as  the  creator  of  a  peculiar  species  of  narra- 
tive composition  which  was  destined  to  achieve   an  immediate 
and  immense  popularity.      Venus  and  Adonis,  which,  in  his  ded- 
ication to  Lord  Southampton,  he  calls  ' '  the  first  heir  of  his  inven- 
tion," was  published   in   1593.     It  is  highly  probable  that  this 
poem  —  exhibiting  all  the   luxuriant  sweetness,  the  voluptuous 
tenderness  of  a  youthful  genius  —  was-conceived,  if  not  composed, 
at  Stratford.      The  Rape  of  Lucrccc,   a  somewhat  similar  but 
inferior  w6rk, — written   in  rhyme   royal, — enjoyed  a  great  but 
inferior  popularity.     The  former  of  these  works  was  reissued  in 
five  several  editions  between  the  years  1593  and  1602  ;  while  the 
Lucrccc,  during  nearly  the  same  lapse  of  time,  appeared  in  three. 
At  what  period   he  began  to  be  fully  conscious  of  his  own  vast 
powers,  and  abandoned  the  adaptation  of  old  plays  for  original 
dramatic  composition.-  it  is  quite  impossible  to  ascertain ;    for 
some  of  the  works  which  bear  the  strongest  impress  of  his  won- 
drous genius  were  undoubtedly  based  upon   productions  by  for- 
mer hands,  and  had  undergone  repeated  recastings  by  himself 
and  others.     As  examples  of  this   may  be  mentioned  Hamlet, 
(81,  82}  Henry  V.,  and  King  John.  (77)     Shakspeare  must 
have  speedily  risen  to  so  much  importance  in  the  Globe  Com- 


A.  D.  15G4-1G16.  SIIAKSPEAEE.  95 

pany  as  sufficed  to  call  down  upon  him  the  attacks  of  envious 
or  disapppinted  rivals;  for  in  1592  the  witty  but  disreputable 
Greene  makes  bitter  allusions  to  his  name  and  alleged  want  of 
learning,  as  well  as  to  his  activity  in  "  bombasting  out  a  blank 
verse."  He  is  "Johannes  Factotum,"  and  on  the  strength  of  a 
few  blustering  common-places  fancies  himself  "  the  only  Shake- 
scene  in  a  country."  These  phrases  are  found  in  the  scurrilous 
pamphlet  entitled  Greene's  Groats~Morth  of  Wit,  published  by 
Chettle  after  its  author's  death,  and  are  evidently  dictated  by  the 
envy  of  a  disappointed  rival ;  but  the  publisher  speedilv  apolo- 
gized in  terms  which  bear  high  testimony  not  only  to  the  great 
poet's  genius  as  a  writer,  but  also  to  his  stainless  integrity. 
"Divers  of  worship,"  says  Chettle,  "have  reported  his  upright- 
ness of  dealing,  which  argues  his  honesty,  and  his  facetious 
(elegant)  grace  in  writing,  that  approves  his  art."  Such  did 
Shakspeare  appear  to  his  contemporaries  in  1592. 

173.  It  is  almost  certain,  too,  that  the  accomplished  Pembroke 
and  the  generous  Southampton  were  his  admirers  and  patrons. 
The  latter,  indeed,  is  related  to  have  made  the  poet  a  present  of 
a  thousand  pounds;  but  though  this  princely  gift  was  in  all 
probability  merely  a  generous  contribution  to  the  support  of  the 
drama  as  represented  by  Shakspeare's  company,  the  action  nev- 
ertheless shows  the  high  respect  which  the  poet  had  inspired. 
That  Shakspeare,  in  his  business  relations  with  the  theatre  and  the 
public,  exhibited  great  good  sense,  prudence,  and  knowledge  of 
the  world,  seems  proved  by  the  skill  with  which,  during  the  time 
of  his  connection  with  it,  the  actors  of  the  Globe  managed  to 
steer  clear  of  the  various  dangers  in  which  the  puritanic  opposi- 
tion of  the  London  Corporation  and  the  susceptibility  of  the 
Court  involved  almost  all  the  other  companies  of  players.  For 
no  sooner  had  he  retired  from  the  theatre  than  repeated  causes 
of  complaint  arose  from  the  petulance  of  his  comrades,  and  were 
severely  punished.  Shakspeare's  worldly  prosperity  seems  to 
have  gone  on  steadily  increasing;  for  in  1597,  when  he  was  aged 
thirty-three,  he  purchased  New  Place  in  Stratford,  and  either 
built  entirely  or  reconstructed  this  house,  long  considered  the 
most  considerable  in  the  town.  During  the  whole  of  his  London 
life  he  no  doubt  made  frequent  visits  to  his  native  place ;  and  he 
was  able  to  afford  a  tranquil  asylum  to  his  parents,  who  appear 
to  have  closed  their  lives  under  his  roof.  The  death  of  his  only 
eon  Hamnet,  in  1596,  when  the  boy  was  in  his  twelfth  year, 


96  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  IX. 

must  have  been  a  severe  shock  to  so  loving  a  heart;  but  in  gen- 
eral his  life  seems  to  have  been  one  of  continued  prosperity.  In 
1602  he  purchased  one  hundred  and  seven  acres  of  land ;  and 
about  the  same  time  he  paid  four  hundred  and  forty  pounds 
for  a  share  in  the  tithes  of  Stratford,  as  a  means  of  secur- 
ing a  safe  revenue.  In  1607  his  favorite  daughter  Susanna 
married  Dr.  Hall;  and  in  the  following  year  she  brought  into 
the  world  a  granddaughter  to  the  dramatist.  In  1611,  the  poet, 
having  disposed  of  most  of  'his  interest  in  the  Globe,  finally 
•withdrew  to  New  Place,  but  did  not  long  enjoy  the  retirement 
for  which  he  had  labored  so  long.  He  died  two  months  after 
the  marriage  of  his  second  daughter,  Judith,  to  Thomas  Qiiiney, 
on  the  23d  April,  1616,  probably  the  anniversary  of  his  birth- 
day, having  just  completed  his  fifty-second  year.  There  exists 
a  tradition  that  the  great  poet  rose  prematurely  from  a  sick-bed 
to  entertain  Ben  Jonson  and  Drayton,  and  brought  on  a  relapse 
by  "  drinking  too  hard."  He  was  buried  in  the  parish  church 
of  Stratford ;  and  over  his  grave  is  erected  a  mural  monument 
in  the  Italianized  taste  of  that  day,  which  is  chiefly  remarkable 
as  containing  a  bust  of  the  poet  —  an  authentic  though  not  very 
well  executed  portrait.  This,  and  the  coarse  engraving  by 
Droeshout,  prefixed  to  the  first  folio  edition  of  his  works  in  1623, 
the  accuracy  of  which  is  vouched  for  by  Ben  Jonson's  eulogistic 
verses,  seem  to  be  the  most  trustworthy  of  his  portraits. 

I7i.  But  few  relics  of  Shakspeare  still  remain ;  the  house  of 
New  Place  has  long  been  destroyed ;  but  the  garden  in  which  it 
stood,  as  well  as  the  house  where  the  poet  was  born,  are  still 
preserved.  His  will,  which  was  made  a  month  before  his  death, 
testifies  to  his  kind  and  affectionate  disposition;  to  each  of  his 
old  comrades  and  "fellows"  he  leaves  some  token  of  regard, 
generally  "  twenty-six  shillings  and  eight  pence  apiece  to  buy 
them  rings."  The  three  autographs  attached  to  this  document, 
and  one  or  two  more,  are  literally  the  only  specimens  that  have 
been  preserved  of  the  writing  of  that  immortal  hand. 

175.  It  now  becomes  absolutely  necessary  to  employ  some 
method  of  classifying  the  works  of  the  great  dramatist  into 
groups.  The  most  valuable  principle  of  classification  would  be 
the  chronological,  which  would  furnish  us  with  a  complete  his- 
tory of  the  growth  of  Shakspeare's  mind  ;  but  this  mode,  though 
it  has  exercised  the  ingenuity  and  research  of  many  laborious 
and  acute  investigators,  has  furnished  no  results  which  can  be 


Ii 


A.  D.  1564-1616.  SHAKSPEAEE.  97 

depended  upon  —  a  fact  evidenced  by  their  extreme  discrepancy. 
Upon  the  order  of  the  pieces  as  given  in  the  first  folio  edition, 
published  in  1623  by  Heminge  and  Condell,  Shakspeare's  friends 
and  "  fellows,"  it  is  evident  no  reliance  can  be  placed.  The  most 
superficial  examination  is  sufficient  to  prove  that,  in  spite  of  the 
assurances  of  the  editors  as  to  its  having  been  based  upon  the 
"papers"  of  their  immortal  colleague,  this  publication  must  be 
regarded  as  little  better  than  a  hasty  speculation,  entered  into 
for  the  sake  of  profit  and  without  much  regard  to  the  literary 
reputation  of  the  great  poet.  And  though  the  system  of  group- 
ing them  as  Tragedies,  Comedies,  and  Histories,  has  at  all 
events  the  advantage  of  clearness,  and  is  that  upon  which  are 
based  most  of  the  editions  of  the  dramas,  it  also  is  in  some  meas- 
ure open  to  objection.  Some  of  the  pieces  indeed  (such  as 
Othello,  Lear,  Hamlet}  (81*  82)  are  distinctly  tragedies,  in  the 
ordinary  sense  of  that  word,  and  others  (As  Tou  Like  It,  (72} 
or  Twelfth  Night)  are  as  evidently  comedies ;  but  there  exists 
a  considerable  number  of  the  plays  which,  from  their  tones  and 
incidents,  might  be  ranged  equally  under  both  heads.  Indeed, 
in  almost  all,  the  tragic  and  comic  elements  are  more  or  less  in- 
termixed, and  it  is  precisely  this  mixture  of  the  two  in  the 
same  piece  which  constitutes  the  peculiar  distinguishing  trait 
of  the  noble  romantic  drama  of  England  in  the  Shaksperian 
Age ;  as  well  as  its  peculiar  excellence  and  title  of  superiority, 
as  a  picture  of  life  and  nature,  over  the  national  drama  of  every 
other  country. 

170.  A  third  mode  of  classification  is  based  upon  the  sources 
from  which  Shakspeare  drew  the  materials  for  his  dramatic  crea- 
tions. These  will  naturally  divide  themselves  first  into  the  two 
great  genera  —  History  and  Fiction  ;  while  the  former  of  these 
two  genera  will  naturally  subdivide  into  different  classes  or  de- 
grees of  historical  authenticity,  ranging  from  vague  and  half- 
poetical  legend  to  the  comparatively  firm  ground  of  recent 
historical  events.  Again,  the  legendary  category  may  be  re- 
ferred to  the  different  countries  from  whose  chronicles  the  events 
were  borrowed  :  thus  Hamlet  is  taken  from  the  Danish  chroni- 
cler Saxo-Grammaticus ;  Macbeth,  Lear,  and  Cymbeline  refer 
respectively  to  the  legends,  more  or  less  fabulous,  of  Scottish 
and  British  history ;  while  Coriolanus,  Julius  C<zsar,  (83)  and 
Antony  and  Cleopatra  are  derived  from  the  annals  of  ancient 
Rome.  The  purely  historical  dramas  of  Shakspeare  are  in- 
7 


98  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  IX. 

tended  to  depict  the  events  of  the  more  recent  and  consequently 
more  reliable  details  of  the  history  of  his  own  country;  and  for 
these,  beginning  with  King  John,  (77)  and  terminating  with 
Henry  VIII.,  (79,  SO)  he  mainly  drew  his  materials  from  the 
old  annalist  Hollinshed.  These  may  be  described  as  grand  pan- 
oramas of  national  glory  or  national  distress,  embracing  often  a 
very  considerable  space  of  time,  even  a  whole  reign,  and  re- 
tracing —  with  apparent  irregularity  in  their  plan,  but  with  an 
astonishing  unity  of  general  feeling  and  sentiment  —  great 
epochs  in  the  life  of  the  nation.  Examples  of  such  will  be 
found  in  Richard  II. ,  Richard  III.,  (78}  the  two  unequalled 
dramas  on  the  reign  of  Henry  IV.,  and  the  glorious  chant  of 
patriotic  triumph  embodied  in  Henry  V.,  in  which  Shakspeare 
has  completed  the  type  of  the  Hero-King.  To  such  pieces  is 
applied  the  particular  designation  of  Histories ;  and  of  such  his- 
tories Shakspeare,  though  not  the  inventor,  was  certainly  the 
most  prolific  author. 

177.  The  second  general  category,  that  of  pieces  derived  from 
fiction,  need  not  detain  us  long.  The  materials  for  this  —  the 
largest  —  class  of  his  dramas,  Shakspeare  derived  from  the  Ital- 
ian novelists  and  their  imitators,  who  supplied  the  chief  element 
of  light  literature  in  the  sixteenth  century.  The  short  tales  of 
these  writers  were  most  singularly  adapted  to  furnish  an  appro- 
priate groundwork  for  the  poet's  humorous  or  pathetic  actions. 
They  were  exceedingly  short;  thev  depended  for  their  popularity 
entirely  upon  amusing  and  surprising  incidents;  and  the  play- 
wright, therefore,  enjoyed  full  liberty  for  the  exercise  of  his 
peculiar  talent  of  portraying  human  character,  having  ready 
prepared  to  his  hand  a  series  of  striking  events  which  he  could 
compress  or  expand  as  best  suited  his  purpose.  It  is  susceptible 
of  proof  that  in  no  one  instance  has  Shakspeare  taken  the  trou- 
ble of  inventing  the  plot  of  a  piece  for  himself;  appropriating 
without  hesitation  materials  already  prepared,  he  directed  all  his 
energies  to  that  department  in  which  he  has  never  met  an  equal 
—  the  exhibition  of  human  nature  and  human  passion.  The 
number  of  his  pieces  derived  from  fiction  amounts  to  nineteen  : 
by  far  the  majority  of  these  are  traceable  to  the  Italian  novelists 
and  their  French  or  Spanish  imitators.  We  are  not,  however, 
to  infer  that  the  great  poet  necessarily  consulted  the  tales  in  the 
original  language.  A  careful  examination  of  his  works  seems 
to  prove  that  he  has  rarely,  if  ever,  made  use  of  any  ancient  or 


A.  D.  1564-1616.  SHAKSPEARE.  99 

foreign  materials  not  then  existing  in  English  translations  ;  a 
fact  which  lends  some  sort  of  corroboration  to  the  well-known 
statement  of  Ben  Jonson  that  he  had  "  small  Latin  and  less 
Greek." 

178.  The  following  general  classification  endeavors  to  com- 
bine, with  a  rough  indication  of  the  class  to  which  each  piece 
belongs,  the  particular  origin  whence  Shakespeare  drew  his 
materials  :  — 

I.  HISTORY. 
i.    Legendary  :  — 

Hamlet  (Tragedy).  (81,  82}      The  Chronicle  of  Saxo- 

Grammaticus,  and  an  older  play. 

King  Lear  (Tragedy).     Hollinshed,  and  older  dramas. 
Cymbeline  (Tragi-comedy).     Hollinshed,  and  old  French 

romances. 

Macbeth  (Tragedy).  '(84,  85}     Hollinshed. 
Julius  Ccesar  (83)       ^  (Tragedies).   Sir  Thomas  North's 
Antony  and  Cleopatra  >      translation  of  Plutarch  from  the 
Coriolanus  )       French  of  Bishop  Amyot. 

Titus  Andronicus  (Tragedy).     Probably  an  older  play  on 
the  same  subject. 

ii.  Authentic  :  — 

Henry  VI.,  Part  I.       )  The    Contention    between    the  fa- 
__    Part  II       V      ntous  Houses  of  Tork  and  Lan- 
__  p     .  jj  y      f      caster;    and  the   True   Tragedy 
J       of  Richard  Duke  of  Tork. 


John.     An  older  play.  (77) 
Richard  II.     The  Chronicles  of  Hall,  Fabian,  and  Hol- 

linshed. 
Richard  III.  (78)     The  Chronicles,   and  an  older  but 

very  inferior  play. 
Henry  IV.,  Parti. 
--   Part  II.  \-  The  Famous  Victories  of  Henry  V. 


Henry  V. 

Henry  VIII.  (79,  8O)     (Foxe,  Cavendish,  Hall.) 

II.  FICTION. 
Midsummer  Night's  Dream  (Comedy).     (75,   76,  87) 

Chaucer's  Knight's  Tale. 
Comedy  of  Errors  (Comedy) .    The  Mcnxchmi  of  Plautus. 


100  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  IX. 

Tatntng  of  the  Shrew  (Comedy).     An  older  play. 
Lovers  Labor's  Lost  (Comedy).     Unknown;  probably  an 

Italian  play. 

Two  Gentlemen  of'  Verona  (Comedy).     Unknown. 
Romeo    and    Juliet    (Tragedy).      Paynter's  Palace    of 

Pleasure. 
Merchant  of  Venice  (Tragi-comedy).  (74)    The  Pecorone 

and  the  Gesta  Romanorum. 
All's  Well  that  Ends    Well  (Comedy).     The  Palace  of 

Pleasure,  translated  from  Boccacio. 
Much  Ado  about  Nothing  (Comedy).     An  episode  of  the 

Orlando  Furioso. 
As  You  Like  It  (Comedy).  (72,  75)    Lodge's  Rosalynde, 

and  the  Coke's  Tale  of  Gamelyn. 
Merry  Wives  of  Windsor  (Comedy).     Unknown. 
Troilus  and  Cressida  (Tragedy).     Chaucer,  and  the  Re- 

cuyell  of  Troye. 
Measure  for  Measure  (Tragi-comedy).     Cinthio's  Heca- 

tommithi. 
Winter's  Tale  (Comedy).     Greene's  tale  of  Dorastus  and 

Fatvnia. 

Timon  of  Athens  (Tragedy).    Plutarch,  Lucian,  and  Pal- 
ace of  Pleasure. 

Othello  (Tragedy).    Cinthio's  Hecatommithi. 
Tempest  (Comedy).   (&6*)     Unknown. 
Twelfth  Night  (Comedy).    A  novel  by  Bandello,  imitated 

by  Belleforest. 
Pericles   (Comedy).     Twine's  translation   of  the    Gesta 

Romanorum. 

179.  From  this  classification  it  will  be  /  een  that  many  plays 
were  based  upon  preceding  dramatic  works  treating  of  the  same, 
or  nearly  the  same  subjects;  and  in  some  few  cases  we  possess 
the  more  ancient  pieces  themselves,  exhibiting  different  degrees 
of  imperfection  and  barbarism.  In  one  or  two  examples  we  have 
more  than  one  edition  of  the  same  play  in  its  different  stages 
towards  complete  perfection  under  the  hand  of  Shakspearc,  of 
which  Hamlet  is  the  most  notable  fnstance.  A  careful  collation 
of  such  various  editions  furnishes  us  with  precious  materials  for 
the  investigation  of  the  most  interesting  problem  that  literary 
criticism  can  approach  —  the  tracing  of  the  different  phases  of 


A.  D.  1564-1616.  SHAKSPEARE.  101 

elaboration  through  which  every  great  work  must  pass.  The 
first  impression  produced  on  the  reader  by  the  Historical  cate- 
gory of  Shakspeare's  dramas,  is  the  astonishing  force  and  com- 
pleteness with  which  the  poet  seized  the  general  and  salient 
peculiarities  of  the  age  and  country  which  he  undertook  to  repro- 
duce. With  the  limited  scholarship  that  he'pVobnbly' posses  <J' 
this  power  is  the  more  extraordinary.  JonstJn,' indeed,  has  shown 
a  far  more  accurate  and  extensive  kn,b\vledge^  of^fhe  tl«ftaifs  of 
Roman  manners,  ceremonies,  and  institutions:1 ;  but  his 'peffeo'n- 
ages,  admirable  as  they  are,  are  entirely  deficient  in  that  intense 
human  reality  which  Shakspeare  never  fails  to  communicate 
to  his  dramatis  persona.  In  the  crowd  of  personages  necessarily 
introduced  into  each  play  of  this  kind,  from  the  most  prominent 
down  to  the  most  obscure,  every  one  clearly  had,  in  the  mind  of 
the  author,  a  separate  and  distinct  individuality,  equally  true  to 
universal  and  to  particular  nature.  The  English  historical  plays 
supply  the  best  illustrations  of  this,  as  will  plainly  be  seen  on 
comparing  King  John,  for  example,  with  Henry  IV.  or  Henry 
V.  This  power  of  throwing  himself  into  a  given  epoch  is,  in 
Shakspeare,  carried  to  a  degree  which  cannot  be  justly  qualified 
as  anything  short  of  superhuman.  His  anachronisms,  too,  of 
which  so  much  has  been  said,  are  mere  external  excrescences, 
which  do  not  affect  for  a  moment  the  sense  of  verisimilitude. 
A  hero  of  the  Trojan  War  may  quote  Aristotle,  or  Caesar's  Ro- 
mans may  wield  the  Spanish  rapier  of  the  sixteenth  century; 
but  the  language  and  sentiments  of  classical  times  are  never  in- 
fected with  the  conceits  of  gallant  and  courtly  compliment  that 
were  current  in  the  age  of  Louis  XIV.  The  delicate  task  of 
giving  glimpses  into  the  private  life  of  great  historical  person- 
ages, which  we  find  generally  evaded  in  all  other  authors  who 
have  treated  such  subjects,  and  the  boldness  with  which  he  has 
introduced  comic  incidents  amid  the  most  solemn  events  of  his- 
tory, are  proofs  of  the  supremacy  of  Shakspeare's  genius. 

180.  But  of  these  thirty-seven  plays  some  bear  evident  marks 
of  an  inferior  hand.  Thus  the  three  parts  of  Henry  VI.  were  in 
all  probability  older  dramas  which  Shakspeare  retouched  and 
revivified  here  and  there  with  some  of  his  inimitable  strokes  of 
nature  and  poetic  fancy.  So,  too,  the  last  of  the  English  his- 
torical plays,  at  least  the  latest  in  the  date  of  its  action,  Henry 
VIII.,  (7.0,  SO}  bears  many  traces  of  having  been  in  part  com- 
posed by  a  different  hand;  in  the  diction,  the  turn  of  thought, 


102  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  IX. 

and  in  particular  in  the  peculiar  mechanism  of  the  versifica- 
tion, there  is  much  to  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  Shakspeare, 
in  its  composition,  was  associated  with  one  other  poet  at  least. 
This  kind  of  partnership  was  an  almost  universal  practice  in 
that  age. 

'Si.  In  rbe  'irto'de  of  delineating  passion  and  feeling  Shak- 
speare proceeds'  differently  from  all  other  dramatic  authors. 
T.hejr,  even  M'e  greatest  among  them,  create  a  personage  by 
accumurating  'in  it  all's-uch  traits  as  usually  accompany  the  fun- 
damental elements  which  go  to  form  its  constitution ;  and  thus 
they  all,  more  or  less,  fall  into  the  error  of  making  their  per- 
sonages embodiments  of  certain  moral  peculiarities,  such  as 
ambition,  avarice,  hypocrisy,  and  the  like.  Moreover,  such 
characters  almost  universally  describe  their  sensations,  which 
men  and  women  in  real  life  never  do,  but  indicate  what  they  feel 
rather  by  what  they  suppress  than  by  what  they  utter.  And  so 
it  is  with  the  men  and  women  of  Shakspeare.  Nor  has  he  evex 
fallen  into  the  common  error  of  forgetting  the  infinite  complex- 
ity of  human  character.  No  one  of  his  personages  is  a  mere 
incarnation  of  some  predominant  vice,  or  passion,  or  oddity,  as 
most  of  Jonson's  are.  Thus,  as  Macaulay  justly  observes,  the 
primary  characteristic  of  Shylock  is  revengefulness ;  but  a 
closer  insight  shows  a  thousand  other  qualities  in  him,  the  mu- 
tual play  and  varying  intensity  of  which  go  to  compose  the 
complex  being  that  Shakspeare  has  drawn  in  the  terrible  Jew. 
Othello  is  no  mere  impersonation  of  jealousy,  nor  Macbeth  of 
ambition,  nor  Falstaff  of  selfish  gayety,  nor  Timon  of  misan- 
thropy, nor  Imogen  of  wifely  love  :  in  each  of  these  personages 
the  more  closely  we  analyze  them,  the  deeper  and  more  multi- 
form will  appear  the  infinite  springs  of  action  which  make  up 
their  personality.  And  this  wonderful  power  of  conceiving  com- 
plex character  is  at  the  bottom  of  another  distinguishing  pecu- 
liarity of  our  great  poet,  namely,  the  total  absence  in  his  works 
of  any  tendency  to  self-reproduction.  From  the  dramas  of  Shak- 
speare we  learn  nothing  whatever  of  what  were  the  sympathies 
and  tendencies  of  the  author.  He  is  absolutely  impersonal,  or 
rather  he  is  all  persons  in  turn ;  for  no  poet  ever  possessed  to  a 
like  degree  the  portentous  power  of  successively  identifying  him- 
self with  a  multitude  of  the  most  diverse  individualities,  and  of 
identifying  himself  so  completely  that  we  cannot  detect  a  trace 
of  pieference.  Shakspeare,  when  he  has  once  thrown  oil  such 


A.  D.  1564-1616.  SEAKSPEAEE.  103 

a  character  as  Othello,  never  recurs  to  it  again.  Othello  disap- 
pears from  the  stage  as  completely  as  a  real  Othello  would  have 
done  from  the  world,  and  leaves  behind  him  no  similar  person- 
age. Not  that  he  has  not  given  us  other  pictures  of  jealous 
men :  Leontes,  Ford,  Posthumus,  all  are  equally  jealous ;  but 
how  differently  is  the  passion  manifested  in  each  of  these  !  In. 
the  female  characters,  loo,  what  a  wonderful  range,  what  an 
inexhaustible  variety!  Perhaps  in  no  class  of  his  impersona- 
tions are  the  depth,  the  delicacy,  and  the  extent  of  Shakspeare's 
creative  power  more  visible  than  in  his  women  ;  for  we  must  not 
forget  that  in  writing  these  exquisitely  varied  types  of  female 
character,  he  knew  that  they  would  be  intrusted  in  representa- 
tion to  boys  or  young  men  —  no  female  having  acted  on  the  stage 
till  long  after  the  age  which  witnessed  such  creations  as  Her- 
mione,  Lady  Macbeth,  Rosalind,  or  Juliet.  The  author  must 
have  felt  what  has  been  so  powerfully  expressed  in  the  language 
of  his  own  Cleopatra  : 

"  The  quick  comedians 
Extemporary  shall  stage  us :  Antony 
Shall  be  brought  drunken  forth,  and  I  shall  see 
Some  squeaking  Cleopatra  boy  my  greatness." 

Surely  the  power  of  ideal  creation  has  never  undergone  a  severer 
ordeal. 

182.  In  the  expression  of  strong  emotion,  as  well  as  in  the 
delineation  of  character,  Shakspeare  is  superior  to  all  other 
dramatists,  superior  to  all  other  poets.  He  never  produces  the 
effect  he  desires  by  violent  or  declamatory  rhetoric,  or  by  unusual 
or  abnormal  combinations  of  qualities.  In  him  we  meet  with 
no  sentimental  assassins,  no  moral  monsters, 

"  Linked  with  one  virtue  and  a  thousand  crimes  j " 

but  he  is  always  able  to  interest  or  to  instruct  us  with  the  exhibi- 
tion of  general  passions  and  feelings,  manifesting  themselves 
in  the  way  we  generally  see  them  -in  the  world.  In  the  expres- 
sion, too,  he  uniformally  draws,  at  least  in  his  finest  passages, 
his  illustrations  from  the  most  simple  and  familiar  objects.  HS 
has  too  often,  indeed,  allowed  his  taste  for  intellectual  subtilties 
to  get  the  better  of  his  judgment;  and  his  passion  for  playing 
upon  words  —  a  passion  which  was  the  literary  vice  of  his  day, 
and  the  effects  of  which  are  traceable  in  the  writings  of  Bacon 
as  well,  often  manifests  itself  most  unreasonably.  But  this  in- 


104  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  iX. 

diligence  in  conceits  generally  disappears  in  the  great  culminat- 
ing moments  of  intense  passion.  The  much-talked  of  obscurity 
of  his  style,  too,  is  not  to  be  attributed,  except  in  some  instances, 
to  the  corrupt  state  in  which  his  writings  have  descended  to  us,  and 
still  less  to  the  archaism  of  his  diction.  The  writings  of  many 
of  the  great  dramatists  his  contemporaries  are  as  remarkable  for 
the  limpidity  and  clearness  of  expression  as  his  are  occasionally 
for  its  complexity.  The  cause  of  this  is  found  in  the  enormously 
developed  intellectual  and  imaginative  faculty  in  the  poet,  lead- 
ing him  to  make  metaphor  of  the  boldest  kind  the  ordinary 
tissue  of  his  style.  In  all  figurative  writing  the  metaphor,  the 
image,  is  an  ornament,  something  extraneous  to  the  thought  it 
is  intended  to  illustrate,  and  may  be  detached  from  it,  leaving 
the  fundamental  idea  intact:  in  Shakspeare  the  metaphor  is 
the  very  fabric  of  the  thought  itself,  and  entirely  inseparable 
from  it.  This  intimate  union  of  the  reason  and  the  imagination 
is  a  peculiarity  common  to  Shakspeare  with  Bacon,  in  whose 
writings  the  severest  logic  is  expressed  in  the  boldest  metaphor ; 
and  the  very  titles  of  whose  books  and  the  very  definitions  of 
whose  philosophical  terms  are  frequently  images  of  the  most 
figurative  character.  From  the  writings  of  no  poet,  ancient  or 
modern,  may  there  be  extracted  such  a  number  of  profound  and 
yet  practical  observations,  expressed  indeed  with  the  simplicity 
of  a  casual'remark,  yet  pregnant  with  the  condensed  wisdom  of 
philosophy. 

183.  The  Sonnets  of  Shakspeare  (88}  possess  a  peculiar 
interest,  not  only  from  their  intrinsic  beauty,  but  from  the  cir- 
cumstance of  their  evidently  containing  carefully  veiled  allu- 
sions to  the  personal  feelings  of  their  author,  allusions  which 
point  to  some  deep  disappointment  in  love  and  friendship  suf- 
fered by  the  poet.  They  were  first  printed  in  1609,  though, 
from  allusions  found  in  contemporary  writings,  it  is  clear  that 
many  of  them  had  been  composed  previously.  They  are  one 
hundred  and  fifty-four  in  number,  and  some  are  evidently  ad- 
dressed to  a  person  of  the  male  sex,  while  others  are  as  plainly 
intended  for  a  woman ;  and  throughout  all  there  runs  a  deep 
undercurrent  of  sorrow,  self-discontent,  and  wounded  affection, 
which  bears  every  mark  of  being  the  expression  of  a  real  senti- 
ment. No  clew,  however,  has  as  yet  been  discovered  by  which 
we  may  hope  to  trace  the  persons  to  whom  these  poems  are  ad- 
dressed, or  the  painful  events  to  which  they  allude.  The  volume 


A.D.  1564-1G16.  SHAKSPEARE.  105 

was  dedicated,  on  its  first  appearance,  by  the  publisher,  Thomas 
Thorpe,  to  "Mr.  W.  H.,"\vho  is  qualified  as  the  only  begetter 
of  these  sonnets;  and  some  hypotheses  suppose  that  this  mys- 
terious "  Mr.  W.  H."  was  no  other  than  William  Herbert,  Earl 
of  Pembroke,  one  of  Shakspeare's  most  powerful  patrons,  and 
a  man  of  great  splendor  and  accomplishments.  It  is,  however, 
difficult  to  suppose  that  a  personage  so  high-placed  could  easily 
have  interfered  to  destroy  the  happiness  of  the  comparatively 
humble  player  and  poet  of  the  Globe  ;  or,  if  he  had,  that  a  book- 
seller would  have  ventured  to  allude  to  him  under  so  familiar 
a  designation  as  "  W.  H."  In  fact,  the  whole  production  is 
shrouded  in  mystery  —  a  mystery  which  no  critical  sagacity  has 
ever  yet  been  able  to  penetrate. 

184:.  Of  Shakspeare's  plays  but  sixteen  were  printed  in  his 
lifetime,  and  those,  so  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  without  his 
sanction.  Three  more  were  published  separately  after  his  death, 
before  the  first  folio  edition,  that  of  Heminge  and  Condell,  ap- 
peared in  1623.  A  second  followed  in  1632,  and  a  third  in  1663 
—  which  last  contained  Pericles  for  the  first  time,  as  well  as  the 
six  apocryphal  plays.  One  more  issue  of  the  folio,  that  of  1685, 
sufficed  the  English  reading  public,  until  Nicholas  Rowe  pro- 
duced the  earliest  critical  edition  in  1709.  There  were,  however, 
several  issues  of  his  poems  during  the  same  time. 


106  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  X. 


CHAPTER    X. 

THE    SHAKSPEARIAN    DRAMATISTS. 

185.  THE  age  of  Elizabeth  and  James  I.  produced  a  galaxy  of 
great  dramatic  poets,  the  like  of  whom,  whether  we  regard  the 
nature  or  the  degree  of  excellence  exhibited  in  their  works,  the 
world  has  never  seen.     In  the  general  style  of  their  writings  they 
bear  a  strong  family  resemblance  to    Shakspeare ;    and  indeed 
many  of  the  peculiar  merits  of  their  great  prototype  may  be 
found  scattered  among  his  various  contemporaries,  and  in  some 
instances  carried  to  a  height  little  inferior  to  that  found  in  his 
writings.     Thus,  intensity  of  pathos  hardly  less  touching  than 
that  of  Shakspeare  may  be  found  in  the  dramas  of  Ford  ;  gallant 
animation    and    dignity    in     the    dialogues    of    Beaumont    and 
Fletcher;  deep  tragic  emotion  in  the  sombre  scenes  of  Webster; 
noble  moral  elevation  in  the  graceful  plays  of  Massinger;  but  in 
Shakspeare,  and  in  Shakspeare  alone,  do  we  see  the  consummate 
union  of  all  the  most  opposite  qualities  of  the  poet,  the  observer, 
and  the  philosopher. 

186.  The  name  which  stands  next  to  that  of  Shakspeare  in 
this  list  is  that  of  BEN  JONSON  (1573-1637),  a  vigorous  and  solid 
genius,  built  high  with    learning  and  knowledge  of  life.  (<$#) 
He  was  born  in  1573,  and  though  compelled  by  a  step-father  to 
follow  the  humble  trade  of  a  bricklayer,  he  succeeded,  by  the 
generous  patronage  of  Camden,  whose  pupil  and  assistant  he 
was  at  Westminster,  in  making  himself  one  of  the  most  learned 
men  of  the  age.     After  a  short  service  as  a  soldier  in  the  Low 
Countries,  where  he  distinguished  himself  by  his  courage  in  the 
field,  he  began  his  theatrical  career  at  about  twenty  years  of  age, 
when  we  find  him  attached  as  an  actor  to  one  of  the  minor  thea- 
tres called  the  Curtain.     His  success  as  a  performer  is  said  to 
have  been  very  small,  owing  most  probably  to  his  want  of  grace 
and  beauty  of  person.     Having  killed  a  fellow-actor  in  a  duel 
while  still  a  very  young  man,  he  was  (to  use  his  own  words) 
"  brought  near  the  gallows."     Whilst  lying  in  prison  awaiting 


A.  D.  1573-1637.  BEN  JON  SON.  107 

his  trial,  he  was  converted  to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith ;  but 
twelve  years  afterwards  he  returned  to  the  bosom  of  his  mother- 
Church. 

187.  His  first  dramatic  work,  the  comedy  of  Every  Man  in  his 
Humor,  is  assigned  to  the  year  1596.  This  piece  failed  in  its 
first  representation ;  but  by  Shakspeare's  advice,  it  is  said,  it 
was  remodelled;  and  two  years  afterwards  was  brought  out  at 
the  Globe  with  triumphant  success,  the  great  poet  himself  tak- 
ing a  part.  Thus  was  probably  laid  the  foundation  of  that  warm 
friendship  between  Jonson  and  Shakspeare,  the  existence  of 
which  is  proved  not  only  by  many  pleasant  anecdotes,  but  by 
the  enthusiastic,  and  yet  discriminating,  eulogy  in  which  Jonson 
has  described  the  genius  of  his  friend.  From  the  moment  of 
this  second  representation  of  his  comedy  Ben  Jonson's  literary 
reputation  was  established;  and  henceforward  he  became  the 
most  prominent  figure  in  the  literary  society  of  that  day.  His 
"  wit-combats  "  at  the  famous  taverns  of  the  Mermaid,  the  Devil, 
and  the  Falcon,  have  been  commemorated  by  contemporary 
poets  and  in  many  anecdotes ;  and  he  came  even  to  be  regarded 
as  a  sort  of  intellectual  king,  like  Samuel  Johnson  afterwards.  - 

188!  His  first  comedy  was  followed  in  the  succeeding  year  by 
Every  Man  out  of  his  Humor,  and  in  1603  he  gave  to  the  world 
his  tragedy  of  Sejanuf.  (#O)  The  frank  and  violent  character 
of  Jonson  involved  him  in  almost  continual  quarrels  and  dis- 
putes—  Dekker,  Marston,  and  Inigo  Jones,  the  Court  architec* 
and  arranger  of  festivities  and  masques,  being  the  special  objects 
of  his  dislike.  Many  of  these  literary  quarrels  may  be  traced  in 
his  dramatic  works,  as  in  The  Poetaster  and  the  Tale  of  a  Tub. 
In  rapid  succession  between  1603  and  1619  followed  some  of 
Jonson's  finest  works  —  Volpone,  Epicene,  the  Alchemist,  and 
the  tragedy  of  Catiline.  In  the  latter  year  he  was  appointed 
Laureate;  and  was  frequently  employed  by  the  Court  in  getting 
up  those  splendid  and  fantastic  entertainments  called  masques, 
in  which  he  exhibited  all  the  stores  of  his  invention  and  all  the 
resources  of  his  vast  and  elegant  scholarship.  Many  of  Jonson's 
later  pieces  were  entirely  unsuccessful ;  and  in  one  of  the  last, 
the  Netv  Inn.  acted  in  1630,  the  poet  complains  bitterly  of  the 
hostility  and  bad  taste  of  the  audience.  Disappointment,  pov- 
erty, ill-health,  and  a  too  great  fondness  for  sack,  made  the  lat- 
ter years  of  his  life  very  unhappy.  He  died  in  1637,  a?ul  was 
buried  in  a  vertical  position  in  Westminster  Abbey ;  the  stone 


108  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  X. 

over  his  grave  having  been  inscribed  with  the  excellent  and  la- 
conic words,  "  O  rare  Ben  Jonson  !  " 

189.  The  dramatic  works  of  this  great  poet  are  of  various  de- 
grees of  merit,  ranging  from  an  excellence  not  surpassed  by  any 
contemporary  excepting  Shakspeare,  to  the  lowest  point  of  labo- 
rious mediocrity.  His  tragedies,  the  Fall  of  Sejanus  and  the 
Conspiracy  of  Catiline,  (#0)  contain  extracts  from  the  Latin 
literature,  reproduced  with  consummate  vigor  and  fidelity.  But 
notwithstanding  the  minute  accuracy  with  which  all  the  details 
of  the  Roman  manners,  religion,  and  sentiments  are  reproduced, 
the  effect  of  the  whole  is  singularly  stiff  and  unpleasing,  partly 
perhaps  from  the  absence  of  pathos  and  tenderness,  and  partly 
from  the  unmanageable  nature  of  the  subjects,  the  hero  in  both 
cases  being  so  odious  that  no  art  can  secure  for  his  fate  the 
sympathy  of  the  reader.  Of  comedies  properly  so  called,  Jonson 
composed  fifteen,  the  best  of  which  are  incontestably  Every  Man 
in  his  Humor,  Volpone,  Epicene  or  the  Silent  Woman,  and  the 
Alchemist.  The  plots  or  intrigues  of  Jonson  are  far  superior  to 
those  of  the  generality  of  his  contemporaries ;  he  always  con- 
structed them  himself,  and  with  great  care  and  skill.  Those  of 
Volpone  and  the  Silent  Woman,  for  example,  though  some  of 
the  incidents  are  extravagant,  are  admirable  for  the  constructive 
skill  they  display,  and  for  the  art  with  which  each  detail  is  mac 
to  contribute  to  the  catastrophe.  The  general  effect,  howevei 
of  Jonson's  plays  is  unsatisfactory.  He  dissected  the  vices,  tl 
follies,  and  the  affectations  of  society;  he  loved  to  dwell  rathe 
upon  the  eccentricities  and  monstrosities  of  human  nature,  thai 
upon  those  universal  features  with  which  all  can  sympathize 
all  possess  them.  His  mind  was  singularly  deficient  in  what 
called  humanity ;  his  point  of  view  is  invariably  that  of  the  sat- 
irist; and  this  tendency  induced  him  to  take  his  materials,  botl 
for  intrigue  and  character,  from  odious  or  repulsive  sources 
thus  the  subject  of  two  of  his  finest  pieces,  Volpone  and  the  At 
chemist,  turns  entirely  upon  a  series  of  ingenious  cheats  am 
rascalities  —  all  the  persons,  without  exception,  being  eithe 
scouudrels  or  their  dupes.  Nevertheless  his  knowledge  of  chai 
acter  is  so  vast,  the  force  and  vigor  of  his  expression  is  so  un- 
bounded, the  tone  of  his  morality  is  so  high  and  manly,  that  his 
comedies  cannot  fail  to  retain  a  high  place  in  literature.  His 
admirable  type  of  coward-braggadocio  in  Bobadill  will  always 
deserve  to  occupy  a  place  in  the  great  gallery  of  human  folly. 


A.D.  1576-1625.    BEAUMONT  AND  FLETCHER.         109 

190.  It  is  singular  that  while  Jonson  in  his  plays  should  be 
distinguished  for   that  hardness    and    dryness  which  we    have 
endeavored  to  point  out,  this  same  poet,  in  another  large  and 
beautiful  category  of  his  works,  should  be  remarkable  for  the 
elegance  and  refinement  of  his  invention  and  his  style.     In  the 
Alasqices   and   Court  Entertainments,  which,  to  the  number  of 
about  thirty-five,  he  composed  for  the  amusement  of  the  king 
and  the  great  nobles,  as  well  as  in  the  charming  fragment  of  a 
pastoral  drama  entitled  the  Sad  Shepherd,  Jonson  appears  quite 
another  man.     Everything  that  the  richest  and  most  delicate  in- 
vention could  supply,  aided  by  e'xtensive,  elegant,  and  recondite 
reading,  is  lavished  upon  these  courtly  compliments,  the  grace- 
fulness of  which  almost  makes  us  forget  their  adulation  and 
servility.     Among  the  most  beautiful  of  these  masques  we  may 
mention  Paris  Anniversary,   the    Masgtte  of  Oberon,  and  the 
Masque  of  Queens.     Besides    his    dramatic   works,   Jonson  left 
literary  remains  in  both  prose  and  verse.     The  former  portion, 
called  Discoveries,  contains  many  valuable  notes  on  books  and 
men  —  those  on  Shakspeare  and  Bacon  being  the  most  interest- 
ing ;  and  the  latter  consists  chiefly  of  epigrams,  written  in  the 
manner  of  Martial.     In   his    Underwoods  is  found  his  famous 
copy  of  verses  to  "The  Memory  of  his  beloved  Master,  William 
Shakspeare." 

191.  Superior  to  Ben  Jonson  in  variety  and  animation,  though 
hardly  equal  to  him  in  solidity  of  knowledge,  were  FRANCIS 
BEAUMONT  (1586-1616)  and  JOHN  FLETCHER  (1576-1625),  both 
men  of  a  higher  social   status,  by  birth  and  by  education,  than 
their  fellow-dramatists,  Beaumont  being  the  son  of  a  Judge,  and 
Fletcher  of  a  Bishop.  (91}     Concerning  the   details   of  their 
lives  and  characters  we  possess  but  vague  and  scanty  informa- 
tion ;  it  is,   however,   evident  from  their  works  that  they  were 
accomplished  men,  possessing  a  degree  of  scholarship  amply 
sufficient  to  furnish  their  writings  with  rich  allusions  and  abun- 
dant ornaments.     The  dramatic  works  of  these  brilliant  fellow- 
laborers    are  extraordinary  not  only  for   their   excellence    and 
variety,   but  also  for  their  number,   their  collected   dramas  — 
which  were  not  printed  in  a  complete  form  till  1647  —  amounting 
to  fifty-two.     The  common  tradition  ascribed  to  Beaumont  more 
of  the  sublime  and  tragic  genius,  to  Fletcher  gayety  and  comic 
humor;  but  so  intimately  interwoven  is  their  glory,  that  neither 
in  their  names  nor  in  their  writings  does  biography  or  criticism 


110  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  X. 

ever  separate  them.  Even  those  plays  that  were  produced  after 
Beaumont's  death  may  possibly  have  profited  by  earlier  sketches 
to  which  he  contributed.  According  to  Dryden,  who  himself 
owed  so  much  to  them,  their  first  successful  piece  was  the 
charming  romantic  drama  of  Ph Has ter ;  besides  which,  among 
the  pieces  performed  anterior  to  1616,  may  be  mentioned  the 
Maid's  Tragedy,  A  King  and  No  King,  the  L,aivs  of  Candy,  all 
of  a  lofty  or  tragic  character;  while  the  Woman-hater,  the 
Knight  of  the  Burning  Pestle  (one  of  their  richest  and  most 
popular  extravaganzas),  the  II ontst  Man's  Fortune,  the  Captain, 
and  the  Coxcomb,  exhibit  their  'comic  genius.  Of  those  attrib- 
uted to  Fletcher  alone,  a  large  proportion  possess  a  predominant 
comic  tone  —  as  the  excellent  comedies  of  the  Chances,  the 
Spanish  Curate,  Beggars'  Bush,  and  Rule  a  Wife  and  Have  a 
Wife.  The  first  quality  which  strikes  the  reader  in  making 
acquaintance  with  these  poets  is  the  singularly  airy,  free,  and 
animated  manner  in  which  they  exhibit  incident,  sentiment,  and 
action.  Their  dialogue  is  singularly  vivacious,  their  style  won- 
derfully limpid,  and  they  often  attain,  in  their  more  poetical  and 
declamatory  passages,  a  high  elevation  both  of  tragic  and  ro- 
mantic eloquence.  In  the  delineation  of  character  and  passion 
they  are  inferior  to  the  great  artist  with  whom  they  have  not 
eeldom  ventured  to  measure  their  strength ;  and  if  they  are  to 
be  compared  with  him  at  all,  it  is  only  in  his  secondary  pieces, 
such  as  Much  Ado  About  Nothing,  Measure  for  Measure,  or  the 
Tempest  —  works  in  which  the  graceful,  fantastic,  and  romantic 
elements  predominate.  In  this  department  Beaumont  and 
Fletcher  are  no  unworthy  rivals  to  the  greatest  of  dramatists. 
Careless  in  the  construction  of  their  plots,  they  keep  alive  the 
curiosity  of  the  reader  by  striking  situations  and  amusing  turns- 
of  fortune.  Though  they  never  once  attempt  the  English  his- 
torical drama,  they  freely  use  materials  derived  from  Roman 
chronicles  —  as  in  their  tragedy  of  the  False  One,  in  which  they 
apparently  try  their  strength  against  Julius  Cczsar — and  from 
the  legendary  history  of  the  Middle  Ages,  as  in  Rollo,  Thcrry 
and  Thcodoret,  and  other  pieces.  They  are  singularly  happy  in 
the  delineation  of  noble  and  chivalrous  feeling,  the  love  and 
friendship  of  young  and  gallant  souls;  and  their  numerous 
portraits  of  valiant  veterans  may  be  pronounced  unequalled. 
Their  pathos,  though  frequently  exhibited,  is  rather  tender  than 
deep ;  but  in  the  Maid's  Tragedy  the  grief  of  Aspasia  and  the 


A.  D.  1576-1 62j.     BEAUMONT  AND  FLETCHER.        Ill 

despair  of  Evadne  are  worked  up  to  a  high  pitch  of  tragic  emo- 
tion. In  the  T-vo  Noble  Kinsmen,  (92}  the  subject  of  which  is 
borrowed  from  the  Knight" s  Tale  of  Chaucer,  the  dignity  of 
chivalric  friendship  is  portrayed  with  the  highest  and  most 
heroic  spirit.  But  it  is  now  an  almost  universal  opinion  that  a 
large  portion  of  this  play  is  Shakspeare's.  It  is  perhaps  in 
their  pieces  of  mixed  sentiment,  containing  comic  matter  inter- 
mingled with  romantic  and  elevated  incidents,  that  Beaumont 
and  Fletcher's  genius  shines  out  in  its  full  effulgence;  of  which 
class  no  better  examples  can  be  selected  than  the  comedies  of 
the  Elder  Brother,  Pule  a  Wife  and  Have  a  Wife,  Beggars'  Bush, 
and  the  SpanishCurate.  In  the  more  violently  farcical  intrigues 
and  characters,  such  as  are  to  be  found  in  the  Little  French 
La-vyer,  the  Woman-hater,  the  Scornful  Lady,  the  eccentricity 
or  even  absurdity  of  the  idea  is  forgotten  in  consideration  of  the 
laughable  extravagances  in  which  it  is  made  to  develop  itself; 
•which  are  very  different  from  those  "  humors "  which  Jonson 
so  delighted  to  portray.  Their  fools  are  "lively,  audible",  and 
full  of  vent;  "  and  the  authors  seem  to  enjoy  the  amusement  of 
heading  up  absurdity  upon  absurdity  out  of  the  very  abundance 
of  their  humorous  conception.  Some  of  the  pieces  of  Beaumont 
and  Fletcher  furnish  us  with  a  store  of  curious  antiquarian  and 
literary  materials ;  thus  Beggars'  Bush  contains  valuable  illus- 
trations of  that  singular  subject  the  slang  dialect;  and  the  fan- 
tastic extravaganza  of  the  Knight  of  the  Burning  Pestle  is  an 
absolute  storehouse  of  ancient  English  ballad  poetry.  They 
occasionally  attempt  some  good-humored  banter  of  Shakspeare  : 
as  in  the  play  just  mentioned  the  droll  pathetic  speech  on  the 
installation  of  Clause  as  King  of  the  Gypsies  is  an  evident  and 
good-natured  jest  at  Cranmer's  speech  in  the  last  scene  of 
Henry  VIII.  The  pastoral  drama  of  -the  Faithful  Shepherd- 
ess, (91}  which  is  the  composition  of  Fletcher  alone,  is  unques- 
tionably one  of  the  most  exquisite  combinations  of  delicate  and 
tender  sentiment  with  description  of  nature  and  lyrical  music, 
that  the  English  or  any  other  literature  can  boast;  and  it  is  not 
the  least  glory  of  Fletcher  that  in  this  exquisite  poem  he  is  the 
victorious  rival  of  Ben  Jonson,  whose  delicious  fragment  of  the 
Sad  Shepherd  was  undoubtedly  suggested  by  this  drama  ;  which 
also  furnished  to  Milton  the  first  prototype  of  his  Comus. 

192.  PHILIP  MASSINGER  (1584-1640),  a  gentleman  by  birth, 
after  a  stay  of  two  years  in  the  University  of  Oxford,  —  where  he 
acquired,  as  his  works  prove,  an  int'mate  knowledge  of  the  great 


112  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  X. 

classical  writers  of  antiquity, — began  his  theatrical  life  in  1604, 
which  appears  to  have  been  an  uninterrupted  succession  of  strug- 
gle, disappointment,  and  distress.  (03)  Like  most  of  his  fel- 
low-dramatists, Massinger  frequently  wrote  in  partnership  with 
other  playwrights,  the  names  of  Dekker,  Field,  Rowley,  Middle- 
ton,  and  others,  being  often  found  in  conjunction  with  his.  We 
possess  the  titles  of  about  thirty-seven  plays  either  entirely  or 
partially  written  by  Massinger,  of  which  number,  however,  only 
nineteen  are  now  extant,  the  remainder  having  been  lost  or 
destroyed.  These  works  are  tragedies,  comedies,  and  romantic 
dramas  partaking  of  both  characters,  The  finest  of  them  are 
the  following :  the  Fatal  Do-wry,  the  Unnatural  Combat,  the 
Rqman  Actor,  and  the  Duke  of  Milan,  in  the  first  category ;  the 
Bondman,  the  Maid  of  Honor,  and  the  Picture,  in  the  third ; 
and  the  Old  Law,  and  A  Ne-w  Way  to  pay  Old  Debts,  in  the 
second.  The  qualities  which  distinguish  this  noble  writer  are 
an  extraordinary  dignity  and  elevation  of  moral  sentiment,  a 
singular  power  of  delineating  the  sorrow  of  pure  and  lofty 
minds  exposed  to  unmerited  suffering,  cast  down  but  not 
humiliated  by  misfortune.  Massinger  had  no  aptitude  for  pleas- 
antries ;  but  a  desire  to  please  the  mixed  audiences  of  those 
days  necessitated  such  an  amount  of  stupid  buffoonery,  and 
loathsome  indecency,  that  we  are  driven  to  the  supposition  of 
his  having  had  recourse  to  other  hands  to  supply  this  obnoxious 
matter.  His  style  and  versification  are  singularly  sweet  and 
noble.  No  writer  of  that  day  is  so  free  from  archaisms  and 
obscurities;  and  perhaps  there  is  none  in  whom  more  constantly 
appear  all  the  force,  harmony,  and*dignity  of  which  the  English 
language  is  susceptible.  If  we  desire  to  characterize  Massinger 
in  one  sentence,  we  may  say  that  dignity,  tenderness,  and  grace, 
are  the  qualities  in  which  he  excels. 

193.  To  JOHN  FORD  (1586-1639)  the  passion-of  unhappy  love, 
viewed  under  all  its  aspects,  has  furnished  almost  exclusively 
the  subject-matter  of  his  plays.  He  began  his  dramatic  career 
by  joining  with  Dekker  in  the  production  of  the  touching  tragedy 
of  the  Witch  of  Edmonton,  in  which  popular  superstitions  are 
skilfully  combined  with  a  deeply-touching  story  of  love  and 
treachery;  and  the  works  attributed  to  him  are  not  niimei'ous. 
Besides  the  above  piece  he  wrote  the  tragedies  of  the  Brother  and 
Sister,  the  Broken  Heart  (beyond  all  comparison  his  most  pow- 
erful work),  a  graceful  historical  drama  on  the  subject  of  Pcrkin 
Warbcck,  and  the  following  romantic  or  tragi-comic  pieces  :  the 


A.  D.  1586-1640.    FORD  AND   WEBS'iER.  113 

Lover's  Melancholy,  (94)  Love's  Sacrifice,  the  Fancies,  Chaste 
and  Noble,  and  the  Lady's  Trial.  His  personal  character,  if 
we  may  judge  from  slight  allusions  found  in  contemporary  writ- 
ings, seems  to  have  been  sombre  and  retiring;  and  in  his  works 
sweetness  and  pathos  are  carried  to  a  higher  pitch  than  in  any 
other  dramatist.  His  lyre  has  but  few  tones;  but  his  music 
makes  up  in  intensity  for  what  it  wants  in  variety;  and  at  pres- 
ent we  can  hardly  understand  how  any  audience  could  ever  have 
borne  the  harrowing  up  of  their  sensibilities  by  such  repeated 
strokes  of  pathos.  His  verse  and  dialogue  are  even  somewhat 
monotonous  in  their  sweet  and  plaintive  melody,  and  are  marked 
by  a  great  richness  of  classical  allusion.  His  comic  scenes  are 
even  more  worthless  and  offensive  than  those  of  Massinger. 

194.  But  perhaps  the  most  powerful  and  original  genius  among 
the  Shakspearian  dramatists  of  the  second  order  is  JOHN  WEB- 
STER.    His  literary  physiognomy  has  something  of  that  dark, 
bitter,  and  woful  expression  which  makes  us  thrill  in  the  por- 
traits of  Dante.    The  number  of  his  known  works  is  very  small ; 
the  most  celebrated  among  them  is  the  tragedy  of  the  Duchess 
of  Ma  If y  (1623)  ;  (95)  but  others  are  not  inferior  to  that  strange 
piece  in  intensity  of  feeling  and   savage   grimness  of  plot  and 
treatment.     Besides  the  above  we  possess  Guise,  or  the  Massacre 
0f  France,  in  which  the  St.  Bartholomew  is,  of  course,  the  main 
action;   the  Devil's  Law- Case  ;   the    White  Devil,  founded  on 
the  crimes  and  sufferings  of  Vittoria  Corombona;  Appius  and 
Virginia  ;  and  we  thus  see  that  in  the  majority  of  his  subjects 
he  worked  by  preference  on  themes  which  offered  a  congenial 
field  for  his  portraiture  of  the  darker  passions  and  of  the  moral 
tortures  of  their  victims.     Like  many  of  his  contemporaries,  he 
knew  the  secret  of  expressing  the  highest  passion  through  the 
most  familiar  images ;  and  the  dirges  and  funeral  songs  which 
he  has  frequently  introduced  into  his  pieces  possess,  as  Charles 
Lamb  eloquently  expresses  it,  that  intensity  of  feeling  which 
seems  to  resolve  itself  into  the  very  elements  they  contemplate. 

195.  As  we  pass  on  to  the  lower  grades  of  dramatic  talent,  we 
are   almost  bewildered  by  the   number  and  variety  of  manifes- 
tations.     A   few  writers,    however,    deserve  a   distinct   notice. 
THOMAS  DEKKER,  one  of  the  most  inexhaustible  of  these,  though 
he  generally  appears  as  a  fellow-laborer  with  other  dramatists, 
yet  in  the  few  pieces  attributed   to  jiis  unassisted  pen  shows 
great  elegance  of  language  and  deep  tenderness  of  sentiment. 

3 


114  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  X. 

THOMAS  MIDDLETON,  best  known  as  the  author  of  the  Witch, 
is  admired  for  a  certain  wild  and  fantastic  fancy  which  delights 
in  portraying  scenes  of  supernatural  agency.  JOHN  MARSTON, 
on  the  contrary,  is  distinguished  mainly  by  a  lofty  and  satiric 
tone  of  invective,  in  which  he  lashes  the  vices  and  follies  of 
mankind.  THOMAS  HEYWOOD  exhibits  a  graceful  fancy,  and  one 
of  his  plays,  A  Woman  Killed  -with  Kindness,  is  among  the  most 
touching  of  the  period. 

196.  The  dramatic  era  of  Elizabeth  and  James  closes  with 
JAMES  SHIRLEY  (1594-1666),  whose  comedies,  though  in  many 
respects  bearing  the  same  general  character  as  the  works  of  his 
great  predecessors,  still  seem  the  earnest  of  a  new  period.  (.96') 
He  excels  in  the  delineation  of  gay  and  fashionable  society ;  and 
his  dramas  are  more  laudable  for  ease,  nature,  and  animation, 
than  for  profound  tracings  of  human  nature,  or  for  vivid  por- 
traiture of  character.     But  the  glory  of  the  English  drama  had 
almost  departed;  and  its  extinction  by  external  violence  in  1642 
but  precipitated  what  was  inevitable.     The  breaking  out  of  the 
civil  war  in  this  year  closed  the  theatres ;   and  this  suspension 
of  the  dramatic  profession  became  perpetual  by  an  ordinance  of 
the  Commons  in  1648.     From  that  date  until  the  Restoration  all 
dramatic  performances  were  illegal ;  but  already,  with  the  con- 
nivance of  Cromwell,  Davenant  had  given  entertainments  of 
this  kind  at  Rutland  House  in  1656;  and  upon  the  great  Pro- 
tector's death  in  1658  he  ventured  to  reopen  a  public  theatre  in 
Drury  Lane.     With  this  event  begins  an  entirely  new  chapter 
in  the  history  of  the  English  stage. 

197.  The  Elizabethan  drama  is  the  most  wonderful  and  ma- 
jestic outburst  of  genius  that  any  age  has  yet  seen.     It  is  char- 
acterized by  marked  peculiarities;  an  intense  richness  and  fer- 
tility of  imagination,  combined  with  the  greatest  force  and  vigor 
of  familiar  expression ;  an  intimate  union  of  the  common  and 
the  refined;  the  boldest  flights  of  fancy  and  the  most  scrupulous 
fidelity  to  actual  reality.     The  great  object  of  these  dramatists 
being  to  produce  intense  impressions  upon  a  miscellaneous  au- 
dience, they  sacrificed  everything  to  strength  and  nature.    Their 
writings  reflect  not  only  the  faithful  images  of  human  character 
and  passion  under  every  conceivable  condition,   not  only  the 
strongest  as  well   as  the  most   delicate  coloring  of  fancy 
imagination,  but  the  profoundest  and  simplest  precepts  deriv 
from  the  practical  experience  of  life. 


s 


A.  D.  1552-1618.     SIB   WALTER  EALEIGH.  115 


CHAPTER   XI. 

THE  PROSE  LITERATURE  OF  THE  ELIZABETHAN  PERIOD. 

198.  THE  object  of  the  present  chapter  is  to  trace  the  nature 
and  the  results  of  that  immense  revolution  in  philosophy  brought 
about  by  the  immortal  writings  of  Bacon ;  as  well  as  to  give  a 
general  view  of  the  prose  literature  of  the  great  Elizabethan  era. 
Much  of  the  peculiarly  practical  character,  which  distinguishes 
the  political  and  philosophical  literature  of  this  time,  is  traceable 
to  the  general  laicizing  of  the  higher  functions  of  the  public 
service  which  resulted  from  the  Reformation.     But  this  depart- 
ment of  letters,  it  must  be  confessed,  makes  but  a  poor  figure 
beside  the  unparalleled  splendor  of  its  more  august  sister;  being 
redeemed  indeed  from  almost  utter  insignificance  by  one  grand 
name  —  and  even  his  greatest  triumphs  were  gained  through  the 
medium  of  the  Latin  language. 

199.  In  the  humble  but  useful  department  of  historical  chron- 
icles a  few  words  must  be   said  on  the  labors  of  JOHN  STOW 
(1525-1605),  whose  Summary  of  English  Chronicles,  Annals,  and 
Survey  of  London  all  appeared  before  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
century ;  and  of  RAPHAEL  HOLLINSHED  (d.  1580),  who  undertook 
a  somewhat  similar  task.     From  the  latter,  Shakspeare  drew  the 
materials  for  many  of  his  half-legendary,  half-historical  pieces, 
such  as  Macbeth,  King  Lear,  and  the  like,  as  well  as  for  most 
of  his  purely  historical  plays. 

200.  The  most  extraordinary  and  meteor-like  personage  in  the 
literary  history  of  this  time  is  SIR  WALTER  RALEIGH  (1552-1618), 
whose  checkered  career  belongs  rather  to  the  political  than  the 
literary  history  of  England.  (45,  56)     He  highly  distinguished 
himself  in  the  wars  in  Ireland,  where  he  visited  Spenser  at  Kil- 
colman,   and   was   consulted   by  the  great  poet   on   the  Faery 
Queen  ;  and  no  less  as  a  navigator  and  adventurer  in  the  coloni- 
zation of  Virginia  and  the  conquest  of  Guiana.     On  the  ac- 
cession of  James  I.  he  was  involved  in  an  accusation  of  high 
treason  connected  with  the  alleged  plot  to  place  the  unfortunate 


116  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  XI. 

Arabella  Stuart  upon  the  throne ;  and  he  was  confined  for  many 
years  in  the  Tower  under  sentence  of  death.  During  his  im- 
prisonment of  twelve  years  Raleigh  devoted  himself  to  literary 
and  scientific  occupations ;  he  produced,  with  the  aid  of  many 
learned  friends,  among  whom  Jonson  was  one,  a  History  of  tJie 
World,  which  will  ever  be  regarded  as  a  masterpiece  of  English 
prose.  It  was  never  completed,  and  reaches  only  the  second 
Macedonian  war. 

201.  The  great  champion  of  the  principles  of  Anglicanism 
against  the  encroachments  of  the  Genevan  school  of  theology 
was  RICHARD  HOOKER  (1553-1600),  a  man  of  evangelical  piety 
and  of  vast  learning —  though  sprung  from  the  humblest  origin 
—  and  educated  in  the  University  of  Oxford.  His  eloquence 
and  erudition  obtained  for  him  the  eminent  post  of  Master  of  the 
Temple  in  London ;  where  his  colleague  in  the  ministry,  Walter 
Travers,  propounded  doctrines  in  church  government  which, 
being  similar  to  those  of  the  Calvinistic  confession,  were  incom- 
patible with  Hooker's  opinions.  The  mildness  and  modesty  of 
Hooker's  character  urged  him  to  implore  his  ecclesiastical  su- 
perior to  remove  him  to  the  more  congenial  duties  of  a  country 
parish  :  and  it  was  here  that  he  executed  that  great  work  which 
has  placed  him  among  the  most  eminent  of  the  Anglican  divines, 
and  among  the  best  prose-writers  of  his  age.  The  title  of  this 
work  is  A  Treatise  on  the  Laws  of  Ecclesiastical  Polity ;  and  its 
object  is  to  investigate  and  define  the  fundamental  principles 
upon  which  is  founded  the  right  of  the  Church  to  the  obedience 
of  its  members,  and  the  duty  of  the  members  to  pay  obedience  to 
the  Church.  But,  though  the  principal  object  of  this  book  is  to 
defend  the  organization  of  the  English  Church  against  the 
attacks  of  the  Roman  Catholics  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Cal- 
vinists  on  the  other,  Hooker  has  dug  deep  down  into  the 
eternal  granite  on  which  are  founded  all  law,  all  obedience,  and 
all  right,  political  as  well  as  religious.  (57)  The  Ecclesiastical 
Polity  is  a  monument  of  close  and  cogent  logic,  supported  by 
immense  and  varied  erudition,  and  is  written  in  a  style  entirely 
free  from  pedantry,  —  clear,  vigorous,  and  unaffected.  It  is  to 
be  regretted  that  this  excellent  work  was  never  finished  by  the 
author,  or,  at  least,  if  finished,  has  not  descended  to  us  as 
Hooker  intended  it  to  do,  for  the  Sixth  Book  is  supposed,  though 
certainly  the  composition  of  the  same  author,  to  be  a  fragment 
of  a  quite  different  work. 


A.  D.  1561-1626.        FRANCIS  BACON.  117 

202.  The  political  life  of  FRANCIS  BACON  (1561-1626)  forms 
with  his  purely  intellectual  or  philosophical  career  a  contrast  so 
striking,  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  find',  in  the  records  of  bio- 
graphical literature,  anything  so  vividly  opposed.  He  was  the 
son  of  Sir  Nicholas  Bacon,  for  twenty-one  years  Keeper  of  the 
Great  Seal  to  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  was  consequently  the  nephew 
of  Burleigh,  —  Sir  Nicholas  and  the  great  Treasurer  having 
married  two  sisters  ;  and  the  boy  gave  earnest,  from  his  tenderest 
childhood,  of  those  powers  of  intellect  and  that  readiness  of 
mind  which  afterwards  distinguished  him  among  men.  While 
studying  at  Cambridge,  it  is  reported  that  he  was  struck  with 
the  defects  of  the  philosophical  methods,  founded  upon  the 
scholastic  or  Aristotelian  system,  then  universally  adopted  in 
the  investigations  of  science.  Then,  perhaps,  first  dawned  upon 
his  mind  the  dim  outline  of  that  great  reformation  in  philosophy 
which  he  was  destined  afterwards  to  bring  about.  After  a  resi- 
dence of  about  four  years  on  the  Continent,  whither  he  had  been 
sent  to  prepare  himself  for  a  public  career,  he  was  recalled  home 
by  the  death  of  his  father  in  1579,  and  found  himself  under  the 
necessity  of  entering  upon  some  active  employment.  He  ap- 
pears to  have  been  treated  with  great  harshness  and  indifference 
by  his  kinsfolk,  the  Cecils,  who  are  said  to  have  refused  him  the 
means  of  devoting  himself  to  his  favorite  scientific  pursuits,  and 
insisted  on  his  embracing  the  profession  of  the  law.  He  became 
a  student  of  Gray's  Inn ;  and  that  wonderful  aptitude,  to  which 
no  labor  was  too  arduous  and  no  subtilty  too  refined,  very  soon 
made  him  the  most  distinguished  advocate  of  his  day,  and  an 
admired  teacher  of  the  legal  science.  But  the  countenance 
which  was  refused  to  Bacon  by  his  uncle,  he  obtained  from  the 
generous  friendship  of  Essex,  who.  after  a  prolonged  but  useless 
effort  to  obtain  for  him  the  place  of  Solicitor-General,  con- 
soled him  by  the  gift  of  a  considerable  estate.  Bacon  now  rose 
rapidly,  both  in  professional  reputation  as  a  lawyer,  and  in  fame 
for  philosophy  and  eloquence.  He  sat  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
and  gave  evidence  not  only  of  unequalled  powers  as  a  speaker, 
but  also  of  that  cowardly  and  interested  subservience  to  the 
Court  which  was  the  great  blot  upon  his  glory.  After  submit- 
ting for  a  time  to  the  haughty  reproaches  of  the  Cecils,  he 
abandoned  their  faction  for  that  of  Essex,  whom  he  flattered  and 
betrayed.  On  the  unhappy  Earl's  trial  for  high  treason  in  1601, 
Bacon  is  said  to  have  volunteered  among  the  foremost  ranks  of 


118  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  XI. 

his  enemies;  and  he  employed  his  immense  powers,  as  an  ad- 
vocate and  a  pamphleteer,  to  precipitate  his  ruin  and  to  blacken 
his  memory. 

203.  On  the  accession  of  James  I.   in  1603,   Bacon  attached 
himself  first  to  Carr,  the  ignoble  favorite  of  that  prince,  and 
afterwards  to  Carr's  successor,  the  haughty  Buckingham.     He 
had  been  knighted  at  the  coronation ;    and  at  the  same  time 
married  Alice  Barnham,  a  young  lady  of  considerable  fortune, 
the  daughter  of  a  London  Alderman.     He  sat  in  more  than  one 
parliament,  and  was   successively  made  Solicitor-General,  At- 
torney-General, and  at  last,  in   1617,  Lord  Keeper  and  Baron 
Verulam ;    which  titles  were   further   augmented    shortly  after- 
wards by  those  of  Lord  Chancellor  and  Viscount  St.  Albans. 
Bacon  exhibited,  in  the  discharge  of  his    great   functions,  the 
wisdom  and  eloquence  which  characterized  his  mind,  and  the 
servility  and  meanness  which  disgraced  his  conduct;  and  on  the 
assembling  of  Parliament  in  1621,  the  House  of  Commons,  then 
filled  with  just  indignation  against  insupportable  abuses,  Ordered 
a  deliberate  investigation  into  various  acts  of  bribery  of  which 
the  Chancellor  was  accused.    The  King  and  the  favorite,  though 
ready  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  screen  a  devoted  servant,  were 
not  bold  enough  to  face  the  indignation  of  the  country.     Bacon 
was  impeached;  he  made  a  full  acknowledgment  of  his  guilt; 
and  was  condemned  to  lose  his  place  as  Chancellor,  to  pay  a 
fine  of  forty  thousand  pounds,  to  be  imprisoned  during  the  King's 
pleasure,  to  be  ever  after  incapable  of  holding  any  office  in  the 
State,    and  to   be    incapacitated   from    sitting  in   Parliament  or 
coming  within  twelve  miles  of  the  Court.     But  not  only  was  a 
full  remission   of  these  penalties   soon  after  conceded  by  the 
Court,   but   a  pension   of  twelve  hundred  pounds  a  year  was 
granted  him  for  life. 

204.  The  life  of  the  fallen  Minister  was  prolonged  for  five 
years  after  his  severe  but  merited  disgrace ;  and  these  years  were 
the  most  fruitful  of  his  life  to  posterity,  in  spite  of  the  incessant 
distractions  and  pecuniary  embarrassments  that  harassed  him. 
His  death  took  place,  after  a  few  days'  illness,  on  the  gth  April, 
1626,  and  was  caused  by  a  cold  and  fever  caught  near  Highgate, 
while  he  was  engaged  in  stuffing  a  fowl  with  snow  in  the  open 
air.     And  so,  to  use  the  words  of  Lord  Macaulay,  "  the  great 
apostle   of   experimental    philosophy  was    destined    to   be    its 
martyr."     Bacon  was  buried,  at  his  own  desire,  by  his  mother's 


A.  D.  1561-1626.  BACON.  119 

side  in  St.  Michael's  Church,  St.  Alban's,  near  which  place  was 
the  magnificent  seat  of  Gorhambury,  constructed  by  himself. 

205.  In  order  to  appreciate  the  services  which  Bacon  rendered 
to  the  cause  of  truth  and  knowledge,  we  must  dismiss  from  our 
minds  that  common  and  most  erroneous  imagination  that  Bacon 
was  an  inventor  or  a  discoverer  in  any  specific  branch  of  knowl- 
edge. His  mission  was  not  to  teach  mankind  a  philosophy,  but 
to  teach  them  how  to  philosophize.  To  devise  a  new  and  more 
effectual  method  of  attaining  truth,  not  to  build  up  a  new  system 
of  philosophy,  was  Bacon's  prime  object;  and  the  excellence  of 
this  method  can  be  nowhere  more  clearly  seen  than  in  the  in- 
stances in  which  he  has  himself  applied  it  to  facts  which  in  his 
day  were  imperfectly  known  or  erroneously  explained.  The 
most  brilliant  name  among  the  ancient  philosophers  is  incon- 
testably  that  of  Aristotle ;  throughout  the  Middle  Ages  his  au- 
thority was  supreme ;  to  question  his  judgment  on  a  matter  of 
science  was  a  crime  only  second  to  heterodoxy  in  religion.  But 
the  instrumental  or  mechanical  part  of  his  system,  the  mode  by 
which  he  taught  his  followers  that  they  could  arrive  at  true  de- 
ductions in  scientific  investigation,  on  falling  into  inferior  hands, 
was  singularly  liable  to  be  abused.  And  so  completely  had  this 
ancient  deductive  method,,  been  transformed  in  its  passage 
through  the  Middle  Ages,  that  its  uselessness  for  the  attain- 
ment of  truth  had  become  apparent;  and  a  great  reform  was 
seen  to  be  inevitable  long  before  Bacon's  time.  To  the  errors 
arising  from  the  abstract  and  excessive  refinements  of  the 
cloister  had  been  added  those  proceeding  from  the  unfortunate 
alliance  between  the  philosophical  system  of  the  Schools  and  the 
authority  of  the  Church ;  which  eventually  proved  as  fatal  to  the 
authority  of  the  one  as  ruinous  to  the  value  of  the  other.  More- 
over, the  Aristotelian  method  of  investigation,  even  in  its  pure 
and  normal  state,  had  been  always  obnoxious  to  the  charge  of 
infertility,  and  of  being  essentially  stationary  and  unprogressive. 
The  ultimate  aim  and  object  of  its  speculations  was  the  attain- 
ment of  abstract  truth;  practical  utility  Avas  regarded  as  an  end 
which,  whether  attained  or  not,  was  below  the  dignity  of  the 
true  sage. 

20G.  The  great  object  which  Bacon  proposed  to  himself,  in 
proclaiming  the  advantages  of  the  Inductive  Method,  was  fruit : 
the  improvement  of  the  condition  of  mankind.  From  an  early 
age  he  had  been  struck  with  the  defects,  with  the  stationary 


120  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  XI. 

and  unproductive  character,  of  the  Deductive  Method  :  and  dur- 
ing the  whole  of  his  brilliant,  agitated,  and,  alas !  too  often 
ignominous  career,  he  had  constantly  and  patiently  labored, 
adding  stone  after  stone  to  that  splendid  edifice  which  will 
enshrine  his  name  when  his  crimes  and  weaknesses,  his  am- 
bition and  servility,  shall  be  forgotten.  (#£)  His  philosophical 
system  is  contained  in  the  great  work,  or  rather  series  of  works, 
to  which  he  intended  to  give  the  general  title  of  Instauratio 
Magna,  or  Great  Institution  of  True  Philosophy.  The  whole 
of  this  neither  was,  nor  ever  could  have  been,  executed  by  one 
man,  or  by  the  labors  of  one  age ;  for  every  new  addition  to  the 
stock  of  human  knowledge  would,  as  Bacon  plainly  saw,  modify 
the  conclusions,  though  it  would  not  affect  otherwise  than  by 
confirming  the  soundness,  of  the  philosophical  method  he  pro- 
pounded. The  Instauratio  was  to  consist  of  six  separate  parts 
or  books,  of  which  the  following  is  a  short  synoptical  arrange- 
ment :  — 

I.  Partitioned  Scientiarnm  :  a  summary  or  classification  of 
all  knowledge,  with  indications  of  those  branches  which 
had  been  more  or  less  imperfectly  treated. 

II.  Novum  Organum  :  the  New  Instrument — an  exposition 
of  the  methods  to  be  adopted  in  the  investigation  of 
truth,  with  indications  of  the  principal  sources  of  human 
error,  and  the  remedies  against  that  error  in  future. 

III.  Phenomena  Universi :  a  complete  body  of  well-observed 

facts  and  experiments  in  all  branches  of  human  knowl- 
edge, to  furnish  the  raw  material  upon  which  the  new 
method  was  to  be  applied,  in  order  to  obtain  results  of 
truth. 

IV.  Scala  Intellectus :   rules   for  the   gradual   ascent   of  the 

mind  from  particular  instances  or  phenomena,  to  prin- 
ciples continually  more  and  more  abstract. 

V.  Prodromi ' :  anticipations  or  forestallings  of  the  New 
Philosophy,  i.  e.,  such  truths  as  could  be,  so  to  say, 
provisionally  established,  to  be  afterwards  tested  by  the 
application  of  the  New  Method. 

VI.  Philosophia  Secunda  :  the  result  of  the  just,  careful,  and 


A.  D.  1561-1626.  BACON.  121 

complete  application  of  the  methods  previously  laid 
down  to  the  vast  body  of  facts  to  be  accumulated  and 
observed,  in  accordance  with  the  rules  and  precautions 
contained  in  the  lid  and  IVth  parts. 

207.  Let  us  now  inquire  what  portion  of  this  project  Bacon 
was  able  to  execute.     The  first  portion  was  published  in  1605,  in 
an  English  treatise,  bearing  the   title  of  The  Proficience  and 
Advancement  of  Learning  (6*3-6*5),  which  was  afterwards  much 
altered  and  extended,  and  republished  in  Latin,  in  1623,  under 
the  title  De  Augmentis   Scientiarum.     The  Novum   Organum, 
the  most  important  portion  of  the  work  —  in  short,  a  compen- 
dium of  the  Baconian  logic  —  was  published  in  Latin,  in  1620. 
Of  the  Third  Book,  Bacon  has  given  only  a  specimen,  consisting 
of  a  History  of  the  Winds,  of  Life  and  Death,  written  in  Latin, 
and  a  collection  of  experiments  in  Physics,  or,  as  he  calls  it, 
Natural  History,  in  English.     This  portion  of  the  work  is  alone 
sufficient  to   show  how  small  are  Bacon's  claims  or  pretensions 
to  the  character  of  a  discoverer  in  any  branch  of  natural  science, 
and  how  completely  he  was  under  the  influence  of  the  errors  of 
his  day;  but  at  the  same  time  it  proves  the  innate  merit  of  his 
method,  and  the  power  of  that  mind  which  could  legislate  for 
the  whole  realm  of  knowledge,  and  for  sciences  yet  unborn.     To 
the  English  fragment  he  gives  the  title  of  Silva  Silvarum,  i.  e., 
a  collection  of  materials.      Of  the  Fourth  Book,  Scala  Intellec- 
tus,  Bacon  has  given  us  but  a  brief  abstract;  of  the  Fifth  only  a 
preface;  and  of  the  sixth  nothing  at  all. 

208.  To   prove   the   soundness   and   the   fertility  of   Bacon's 
method  of  investigation,  we  have  only  to  compare  the  progress 
made  by  humanity  in  all  the  useful   arts  during  the  two  cen- 
turies and  a  half  since  induction  has  been  generally  employed  in 
all  branches  of   science,  with  the   progress   made   during  the 
twenty  centuries  which  elapsed  between  Aristotle  and  the  age 
of  Bacon.     It  is   no  exaggeration  to  say,   that  in   the    shorter 
interval  that  progress  has  been  ten  times  greater  than  in  the 
longer.      Nor  is  this   in   any  degree   attributable  to  any  supe- 
riority of  the  human  intellect  in  modern  times ;  never  did  hu- 
manity produce  intellects  more  vast,  more  penetrating,  and  more 
active,  than  the  series  of  great  men  who  wasted  their  powers 
in  abstract  questions  which  never  could  be  solved,   or  in  the 
sterile  subtilties  of  scholastic  disputation.     In  those  sciences, 


122  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  XL 

too,  which  are  independent  of  experiment  —  as  theology  for  in- 
stance, or  pure  geometry —  the  ancients  were  fully  as  far  advanced 
as  we  are  at  this  moment.  The  glory  of  Bacon  is  founded  upon 
a  union  of  speculative  power  with  practical  utility,  which  were 
never  so  combined  before.  He  neglected  nothing  as  too  small, 
despised  nothing  as  too  low,  by  which  our  happiness  could  be 
augmented;  in  him  above  all  were  combined  boldness  and 
prudence,  the  intensest  enthusiasm  and  the  plainest  common 
sense.  It  is  probable  that  Bacon  generally  wrote  the  first  sketch 
of  his  works  in  English,  but  afterwards  caused  them  to  be  trans- 
lated into  Latin,  which  was  at  that  time  the  language  of  science, 
and  even  of  diplomacy.  He  is  reported  to  have  employed  the 
services  of  many  young  men  of  learning  as  secretaries  and 
translators ;  among  these  the  most  remarkable  is  Hobbes,  after- 
wards so  celebrated  as  the  author  of  the  Leviathan.  The  style, 
in  which  the  Latin  books  of  the  Instauratio  were  given  to  the 
world,  though  certainly  not  a  model  of  classical  purity,  is 
weighty,  vigorous,  and  picturesque. 

209.  Bacon's  English  writings  are  very  numerous ;  among 
them  unquestionably  the  most  important  is  the  little  volume 
entitled  Essays,  (58-61)  the  first  edition  of  which,  consisting 
of  only  ten,  he  published  in  1597,  and  the  last  in  1625,  by  which 
time  the  number  had  grown  to  fifty-eight.  These  are  short 
papers  on  an  immense  variety  of  subjects,  from  grave  questions 
of  morals  and  policy  down  to  the  arts  of  amusement  and  the 
most  trifling  accomplishments ;  and  in  them  appears,  in  a  man- 
ner more  appreciable  to  ordinary  intellects  than  in  his  elaborate 
philosophical  works,  the  wonderful  union  of  depth  and  variety 
which  characterizes  Bacon.  The  intellectual  activity  they  dis- 
play is  literally  portentous,  the  immense  multiplicity  and  apt- 
ness of  unexpected  illustration  is  only  equalled  by  the  originality 
with  which  Bacon  manages  to  treat  the  most  worn-out  and  com- 
monplace subject  —  such,  for  instance,  as  friendship  or  garden- 
ing. No  author  was  ever  so  concise  as  Bacon  :  and  in  his  mode 
of  writing  there  is  that  remarkable  quality  which  gives  to  the 
style  of  Shakspeare  such  a  strongly-marked  individuality  —  that 
is,  a  combination  of  the  intellectual  and  imaginative,  the  closest 
reasoning  in  the  boldest  metaphor,  the  condensed  brilliancy  of 
an  illustration  identified  with  the  development  of  thought.  It 
is  this  that  renders  both  the  dramatist  and  the  philosopher  at 
once  the  richest  and  the  most  concise  of  writers.  Many  of 


A.  D.  1561-1626.  BACON.  123 

Bacon's  essays,  as  that  inimitable  one  on  Studies,  are  absolutely 
oppressive  from  the  power  of  thought  compressed  into  the  small- 
est possible  compass.  Bacon  wrote  also  an  Essay  on  the  Wisdom 
of  the  Ancients,  in  which  he  endeavored  to  explain  the  political 
and  moral  truths  concealed  in  the  mythology  of  the  classical 
ages  ;  and  in  this  work  he  exhibits  an  ingenuity  which  Macau  lay 
justly  describes  as  almost  morbid  :  an  unfinished  romance,  7^/ie 
Ne~M  Atlantis,  which  was  intended  to  embody  the  fulfilment  of 
his  own  dreams  of  a  philosophical  millennium  :  a  History  of 
Henry  VII.,  and  a  vast  number  of  state-papers,  judicial  decis- 
ions, and  other  professional  writings.  All  these  are  marked  by 
the  same  vigorous,  weighty,  and  somewhat  ornamented  style 
which  is  to  be  found  in  the  Instauratio,  and  are  among  the  finest 
specimens  of  the  English  language  at  its  period  of  highest 
majesty  and  perfection. 

210.  It  is  by  his  Essays  that  Bacon  is  most  widely  known. 
(58-61)     "Coming  home,"   as   he  says   himself,   "to   men's 
business  and  bosoms,"  they  gained,  even  in  his  own  time,  an 
extensive  popularity,  which  they  still  retain.     As  a  natural  con- 
sequence, this  success  attracted  others  into  the  same  path ;  and 
in  no  long  time  it  came  to  be  recognized   as  a  distinct  walk  in 
literature.     One  of  the  first  to  venture  into  it  to  some  purpose 
was  SIR  THOMAS  OVERBURY  (1581-1613),  (12O)  the  victim  of 
the  infamous  Countess  of  Somerset,  whose  Characters,  if  some- 
what different  in  form,  possess  all  the  material  features  of  this 
kind  of  composition,  and  are  an  attempt  to   throw  off,  in  a  few 
bold  strokes,  certain   remarkable  types  of  humanity.     Of  these 
characters  the  "  Fair  and  Happy  Milkmaid"  is  the  best.     The 
Micro-cosmographie  of  JOHN  EARLE  (1600-1665),  Dean  of  West- 
minster  and  a   Bishop  after   the  Restoration,  which  was  first 
published  in  1628,  is  a  work  exactly  similar  to  Overbury's ;  and 
though  inferior  to  it  in  originality,  is  much  superior  in  style  and 
literary  finish.     A  prominent  place  in  ths  same  province  is  gen- 
erally assigned  to  OWEN  FELTHAM  (1610-1678?),  (118}  the  first 
part  of  whose  Resolves,  or  attempted  solution  of  difficult  problems 
in  morals,  appeared  in  1627 ;  but  Mr.  Hallam  pronounces  him  to 
be  "  not  only  a  labored  and  artificial,  but  a  shallow  writer." 

211.  But  the  most  notable  of  the  contemporary  writers  of  this 
class  was  ROBERT  BURTON  (1576-1640),  distinguished  by  eccen* 
tricity  alike   in    life    and  works.      The   principal  of  these,   the 
Anatomy  of  Melancholy,  (06,  67)  which  purported  to  be  writ- 
ten by  "  Democritus,  junior,"  is  a  strange  combination  of  the 


124  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  XI. 

most  extensive  and  out-of-the-way  reading  with  just  observation 
and  a  peculiar  kind  of  grave  saturnine  humor.  The  object  of 
the  writer  was  to  give  a  complete  monography  of  Melancholy, 
and  to  point  out  its  causes,  its  symptoms,  its  treatment,  and  its 
cure;  but  the  descriptions  given  of  the  various  phases  of  the 
disease  are  written  in  so  curious  and  pedantic  a  style,  accom- 
panied with  such  an  infinity  of  quaint  observation,  and  illus- 
trated by  such  a  mass  of  quotations  from  a  crowd  of  authors, 
principally  the  medical  writers  of  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth 
centuries,  of  whom  not  one  reader  in  a  thousand  in  the  present 
day  has  ever  heard,  that  the  Anatomy  possesses  a  charm  which 
no  one  can  resist  who  has  once  fallen  under  its  fascination.  The 
greater  part  of  Burton's  laborious  life  was  passed  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Oxford,  where  he  died,  not  without  suspicion  of  having 
hastened  his  own  end,  in  order  that  it  might  exactly  correspond 
with  the  astrological  predictions  which  he  is  said,  being  a  firm 
believer  in  that  science,  to  have  drawn  from  his  own  horoscope. 

212.  LORD    HERBERT   OF  CHERBURY   (1581-1648),    an   elder 
brother  of  "  holy  George  Herbert,"  was  a  man  of  great  learning 
and  rare  dignity  of  personal  character;  and  was  employed  in  an 
embassy  to  Paris  in  1616.     There  he  first  published  his  principal 
work,  the  treatise  De  Veritate,  an  elaborate  pleading  in  favor  of 
Deism,  of  which   Herbert  was  one  of  the  earliest  partisans  in 
England.     He  also   left  a  History   of  Henry   VIII.,  (68}   not 
published  until  after  his  death,  and  which  is  certainly  a  valuable 
monument  of  grave  and  vigorous  prose;  though  the  historical 
merit  of  the  work  is  diminished  by  the  author's  strong  partiality 
in  favor  of  the  character  of  the  king. 

213.  Two   of   the   minor   historians   of    this    age,    RICHARD 
KNOLLES  and  SAMUEL  DANIEL,  the  latter  the  well-known  poet, 
deserve  a  passing  notice.     The  first  published,  in  1610,  a  copious 
History  of  the  Turks,  which  has  won  the  emphatic  approval  of 
Dr.  Johnson,  who  finds  in  it  "  all  the  excellences  that  narrative 
can  admit.     His  style,  though  somewhat  obscured  by  time,  and 
vitiated  by  false  wit,  is  pure,  nervous,  elevated,  and  clear."     The 
second,  in  1618,  gave  to  the  world  a  History  of  England,  from 
the  Conquest  to  the  reign  of  Edward  III.,  in  which  Mr.  Hallam 
discovers  many  merits   in   language,  style,  and   diction.     The 
Britannia  of  WILLIAM  CAMDEN  (1551-1623),  founder  of  the  first 
chair  of  History  at  Oxford,   is    still   quoted   as    a   trustworthy 
authority  on  the  topography  of  Great  Britain  from  the  earliest 
times. 


A.  D.  1573-1631.  JOHN  DONNE.  125 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE    SO-CALLED    METAPHYSICAL    POETS. 

214.  IN  its  literary  aspect  the  agitated  epoch  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  though  not  marked  by  any  marvellous  outburst 
of  creative  power,  has  yet  left  deep  traces  on  the  turn  of  thought 
and  expression  of  the  English  people;  and  confining  ourselves 
to  the  department  of  poetry,  and  excluding  the  solitary  example 
in  Milton  of  a  poet  of  the  first  class,  we  may  say  that  this  period 
introduced  a  class  of  excellent  writers  in  whom  the  intellect  and 
the  fancy  play  a  greater  part  than  sentiment  or  passion.     Inge- 
nuity predominates  over  feeling :  and  while  Milton  owed  much 
to  many  of  these  poets,  whom  Johnson  has  styled  the  metaphys- 
ical class,  nevertheless  we  must  allow  that  they  had  much  to  do 
with  generating  the  so-called  correct  and  artificial  manner  which 
distinguishes  the  classical  writers  of  the  age  of  William,  Anne, 
and  the  first  George. 

215.  The  founder  of   this  fantastic  school  was  undoubtedly 
JOHN    DONNE   (1573-1631),    who   has   been    already   mentioned 
(p.  74)  as  one  of  our  first  satirists.     A  tendency  to  intellectual 
subtilty  had   set  in  early  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  infecting 
prose  and  verse  alike;  and  after  a  time  the  fashion  became  so 
universal  that  no  man  of  genius,  not  even   Shakspeare  himself, 
escaped  its   influence.     But   what   was   in    the    great   dramatist 
merely  an  occasional  infirmity,  became  in  John  Donne  the  law 
of  his  literary  nature,   the  essential  feature  of  his   verse.  (50) 
To  run  every  thought  that  entered  his  brain  through  a  series  of 
the  most  remote,  and  in  many  cases  most  repulsive,  analogies, 
generally  physical  arid  almost  invariably  inappropriate,  seemed 
to  him  to  be  all  that  was  necessary  to  constitute  poetry.     Donne's 
youth  and  early  manhood  were  passed  in  the  society  of  the  wits 
of  the  Mermaid;  and  besides  his  satires,  already  spoken  of,  the 
chief  products  of  his  muse  at  this  period  were  the  Metempsycho- 
sis, and  a  series  of  amatory  poems,  which  afterwards  he  wrould 
fain  have  suppressed.     Entering  the   Church   in   later   life  he 


126  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.          CHAP.  XII, 

eventually  became  Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  when  he  not  only  wrote 
his  Divine  Poems,  but  became  famous  as  a  theologian  and  pul- 
pit-orator. Donne's  reputation  in  his  own  time  was  almost  the 
highest;  "rare  Ben"  pronounced  him  "the  first  poet  in  the 
world  in  some  things;  "  but  with  unerring  prophetic  insight  de- 
clared that  "for  not  being  understood  he  would  perish." 

216.  GEORGE  WITHER    (1588-1667)    and    FRANCIS   QUARLTCS 
(1592-1644)  are  a  pair  of  poets  whose  writings  have  a  consider- 
able degree  of  resemblance  in  manner  and  subject,  and  whose 
lives  were  similar  in  misfortune.     Wither  took  an  active  part  in 
the  Civil  War,  attained  command  under  the  administration  of 
Cromwell ;  but  had  previously  undergone  severe  persecution  and 
long  imprisonment.     His  most  important  work  is  a  collection  of- 
poems,  of  a  partially  pastoral  character,  entitled  the  Shepherds' 
Hunting,  in  which  the  reader  will  find  frequent  rural  descrip- 
tions of  exquisite  fancifulness  and  beauty,  together  with  a  sweet 
and  pure  tone  of  moral  reflection.    The  vice  of  Wither,  as  it  was 
generally  of  the  literature  of  his  age,  was  a  passion  for  ingenfous 
turns  and  unexpected  conceits,  which  bear  the  same  relation  to 
really  beautiful  thoughts  that  plays  upon  words  do  to  true  wit. 
Many  of  his  detached  lyrics  —  as  The  Sleadfast  Shepherd,  (97) 
The  Shepherd's  Resohttion  —  are  extremely  beautiful,  and  the 
verse  is  generally  flowing  and  melodious.     He  was  perhaps  the 
most  prolific  versifier  of  the  day,  throwing  off  all  manner  of 
composition  with  amazing  facility.     His  Hym ns  and  Songs  of 
the  Church,  and  his  Hallelujah,  possess  considerable  merit ;  and 
of  his  innumerable  satires,   the  Abuses  Stript  and  Whipt,  for 
which   he   was   imprisoned,   was   the  most   popular.     Quarles, 
though  a  Royalist  as  ardent  as  Wither  was  a  devoted  Republi- 
can, exhibits  many  points  of  intellectual  resemblance  to  Wither; 
to  whom,  however,  he  was-far  inferior  in  poetical  sentiment.  («9<9) 
One  of  his  most  popular  works  is  a  collection  of  Divine  Em- 
blems, in  which  moral  and  religious  precepts  are  inculcated  in 
short  poems  of  a  most  quaint  character,  and  illustrated  by  en- 
gravings filled  with  what  may  be  called  allegory  run  mad. 

217.  GEORGE  HERBERT  (1593-1633)  and  RICHARD  CRASIIAW 
(circa  1620-1650)  exhibit  the  highest  exaltation  of  religious  sen- 
timent; and  are  both  worthy  of  admiration,   not  only  as  Chris- 
tian poets,  but  as  good  men  and  pious  priests.     George  Herbert 
was  born  in  1593,  and  at  first  rendered  himself  remarkable  by 
the  graces  and  accomplishments  of  the  courtly  scholar;   but 


A.  D.  1589-1639.          THOMAS    CAREW.  127 

afterwards  entering  the  Church,  he  exhibited,  as  parish  priest  at 
Bemerton  in  Wiltshire,  all  the  virtues  which  can  adorn  the  coun- 
try parson  —  a  character  he  has  beautifully  described  in  a  prose 
treatise  under  that  title.  His  poems,  principally  religious,  are 
generally  short  lyrics,  combining  pious  aspiration  with  frequent 
and  beautiful  pictures  of  nature.  (99)  He  decorates  the  altar 
with  the  sweetest  and  most  fragrant  flowers  of  fancy  and  of  wit. 
Though  not  devoid  of  that  perverted  ingenuity  which  deformed 
Quarles  and  Wither,  he  has  almost  attained  the  perfection  of 
devotional  poetry  —  a  calm  and  yet  ardent  glow,  a  well-governed 
fervor  which  seems  peculiarly  to  belong  to  the  Church  of  which 
he  was  a  minister.  His  collection  of  sacred  lyrics  is  entitled  the 
Temple,  or  Sacred  Poems  and  Private  Ejaculations. 

218.  Crashaw  was  brought  up  in  the  Anglican  Church,  and 
received  a  learned  education  at  Oxford;  but  during  the  Puritan 
troubles  he  embraced  the  Romish  faith,  in  whose  communion  he 
died,  as  a  canon  of  Loretto.     The  mystical  tendency  of  his  mind 
was  increased  by  his  misfortunes  and  by  his  change  of  religion. 
That  he  possessed  an  exquisite  fancy,  great  melody  of  verse,  and 
that  power  over  the  reader  which  nothing  can  replace,  and  which 
springs  from  deep  earnestness,  no  one  can  deny.  (1QO)     The 
most  favorable  specimens  of  his  poetry  are  the  Steps  to  the  Tern- 
pie,  and  the  beautiful  description  entitled  Music's  Duel. 

219.  Love,  romantic  loyalty,  and  airy  elegance,  find  their  best 
representatives  in  four  charming  poets  whose  works  may  be  ex- 
amined under  one  general  head.     These  are  ROBERT  HERRICK 
(1591-1674),  (1OT)  SIR  JOHN  SUCKLING  (1609-1641),  (1O2)  SIR. 
RICHARD   LOVELACE  (1618-1658),  (1O3)  and  THOMAS  CAREW 
(1589-1639).  (1Q4:)     The  first  of  these  writers,  after  beginning 
his  career  among  the  brilliant  but  somewhat  debauched  literary 
society  of  the  town  and  the  theatre,  took  orders ;  but  still  con- 
tinued to  exhibit  in  some  of  his  writings  the  same  graceful  but 
voluptuous    spirit  which   distinguished   his  early  works.      His 
poems,  which  were  published  in  1648  under  the  name  of  Hes- 
peridcs  and  Noble  Numbers,  are  all  lyric,  generally  songs  upon 
love  and  wine ;  but  some  are  upon  sacred  subjects.     In  Herrick 
we  find  the  most  unaccountable  mixture  of  sensual  coarseness 
with  exquisite  refinement ;  yet  in  fancy,  in  genius,  in  power  over 
the  melody  of  verse,  he  is  never  deficient.     Suckling  and  Love- 
lace are  the  types  of  the  Cavalier  poet;  both  suffered  in  the 
King's  cause ;  and  both  exemplify  the  spirit  of  loyalty  to  their 


123  ENGLISH  LITEEATUEE.  CHAP.  XII. 

king,  and  gallantry  to  the  ladies.  Many  of  Suckling's  love  songs 
are  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  the  most  beautiful  examples  of  that 
mixture  of  gay  badinage  and  tender  if  not  very  deep-felt  devo- 
tion which  characterizes  French  courtly  and  erotic  poetry  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  His  most  exquisite  production  is  his  Bal- 
lad upon  a  Wedding,  in  which,  assuming  the  character  of  a 
rustic,  he  describes  the  marriage  of  a  fashionable  couple,  Lord 
Broghill  and  Lady  Margaret  Howard.  Lovelace  is  more  serious 
and  earnest  than  Suckling;  his  lyrics  breathe  rather  devoted  loy- 
alty than  the  half-passionate,  half-jesting  love-fancy  of  his  rival. 
Such  are  the  beautiful  lines  to  Althea,  composed  when  the  au- 
thor was  closely  confined  in  the  Gate-house  at  Westminster. 
Carew's  lyrics  reflect  the  same  spirit  as  Suckling's ;  his  Inquiry, 
Primrose,  and  his  "  He  that  loves  a  rosy  cheek,"  have  all  the 
grace  and  airy  elegance  that  characterize  such  works. 

220.  The  writings  of  WILLIAM  HABINGTON  (1605-1654)  (1O6) 
are  principally  devoted  to  love.     He  celebrates,  with  much  in- 
genuity and  occasional  grace,  the  charms  and  virtues  of  a  lady 
whom  he  calls  Castara  —  she  was  Lucy,  daughter  of  William 
Herbert  Lord  Powis  —  agd  who  was  not  only  his  ideal  mistress, 
but  his  wife.     Habington,  like  Crashaw,  was   a  Catholic;  and 
his  poems  are  free  from  that  immorality  which  so  often  stains 
the  graceful  fancies  of  the  poets  of  this  age. 

221.  But    the  most   prominent   and   popular  figures  of  this 
period,  and  the  writers  who  exerted  the  strongest  influence  on 
their  own  time,  are  Waller  and  Cowley ;  to  which  may  be  added 
the  secondary  but  still  important  names  of  Denham  and  Dave- 
nant. 

222.  EDMUXD  WALLER  (1605-1687)  (1OT)  was  of  ancient  and 
dignified  family,  of  great  wealth,  and  a  man  of  varied  accom- 
plishments and  fascinating  manners  ;  but  his  character  was  timid 
and  selfish;  and  he  exhibited  repeated  indications  of  tergiversa- 
tion in  those  difficult  times,  professing  adherence  to  Puritan  and 
Republican  doctrines  while  really  sympathizing  with  the  Court 
party.  Even  his  consummate  adroitness  did  not  always  succeed  in 
securing  impunity ;  and  in  1643,  being  convicted  by  the  House  of 
a  plot  to  betray  London  to  the  King,  it  was  only  by  an  abject  sub- 
mission that  he  narrowly  escaped  capital  punishment,  being  im- 
prisoned, fined  ten  thousand  pounds,  and  obliged  to  exile  himself 
for  some  time,  which  he  passed  in  France.  Though  the  first  cousin 
of  Hampden,  and  so  a  family  connection  of  Oliver  Cromwell  him- 


A.  D.  1605-1687.       EDMUND    WALLER.  129 

self,  whom  he  has  celebrated  in  one  of  his  finest  poems,  Waller 
was  ready  to  hail  with  enthusiasm  every  new  change  in  the  politi- 
cal world;  and  he  panegyrized  Cromwell  and  Charles  II.  with 
equal  fervor,  though  not  with  equal  effect.  He  lived  to  see  the  ac- 
cession of  James  II.,  whose  policy  he  prophesied  would  lead  to  the 
fatal  results  that  afterwards  occurred.  In  his  own  day,  and  in 
the  succeeding  generation,  Waller's  poetry  enjoyed  the  highest 
reputation.  He  was  said  to  have  carried  to  perfection  the  art  of 
expressing  graceful  and  sensible  ideas  in  the  clearest  and  most 
harmonious  language ;  and  his  example  acted  powerfully  on 
Dryden  and  Pope,  both  of  whom  confessed  their  obligations  to 
him.  Regular,  reasonable,  well-balanced,  well-proportioned,  the 
lines  of  Waller  always  gratify  the  judgment,  but  never  touch 
the  heart  or  fire  the  imagination.  Most  of  his  poems  are  love 
verses,  written  mainly  in  honor  of  Lady  Dorothy  Sidney,  whom 
he  long  wooed  in  vain  under  the  name  of  Saccharissa,  but  his 
panegyric  on  Cromwell,  as  well  as  the  lines  on  his  death,  con- 
tain many  passages  of  great  dignity  and  force.  He  was  less 
felicitous  in  his  longer  work,  the  Battle  of  the  Summer  Islands, 
in  which,  in  a  half-serious,  half-comic  strain,  he  described  an 
attack  upon  two  stranded  whales  in  the  Bermudas. 

223.  SIR  WILLIAM  DAVENANT  (1605-1668)  is  principally  inter- 
esting to  us  at  the  present  day  as  being  connected  with  the  revival 
of  the  theatre  at  the  termination  of  the  severe  Puritan  rule;  and 
though  a  most  ardent  and  sincere  worshipper  of  the  genius  of 
Shakspeare,  he  was  obliged  —  such  was  the  debased  taste  of  the 
age —  in  attempting  to  i-evive  his  works,  to  alter  their  spirit  so 
completely,  that  every  honest  reader  must  regard  the  adaptations 
with  absolute  disgust.  Already  before  the  rout  of  the  Cavaliers 
he  had  succeeded  Ben  Jonson  as  laureate,  and  was  long  connected 
with  the  Court  Theatre ;  and  both  in  the  dramas  which  he  com- 
posed himself,  and  in  those  which  he  adapted  and  placed  upon 
the  stage,  we  see  how  far  the  taste  for  splendor  of  scenery,  dances, 
music,  and  decoration,  had  usurped  the  passion  of  the  earlier 
public  for  truth  and  intensity  in  the  picturing  of  life  and  nature. 
Principally  through  the  influence  of  French  tastes,  the  mechan- 
ical accessories  of  the  stage  had  been  immensely  improved;  and 
actresses,  young,  beautiful,  and  skilful,  had  usurped  the  place  of 
the  boys  of  the  Elizabethan  age.  Davenant  was  a  most  prolific 
author,  not  only  in  the  dramatic  department,  —  in  which  his  most 
popular  productions  were  Albovine,  the  Sisgc  o/ft/iodcs, 
9 


130  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.          CHAP.  XII. 

against  Lovers,  the  Cruel  BrotJicr,  and  many  others,  but  also 
as  a  narrative  poet.  His  incomplete  poem  of  Gondibert  (108} 
narrates  a  long  series  of  lofty  and  chivalric  adventures  in  a 
dignified  but  somewhat  monotonous  manner;  and  is  written  in 
a  peculiar  four-lined  stanza  with  alternate  rhymes,  afterwards 
employed. by  Dryden  in  lii&Annus  Mirabilis. 

224.  SIR  JOHN  DENHAM  (1615-1668),  the  "  majestic  Denham  " 
of  Pope,  was  the  son  of  the  Chief  Baron  of  the  Exchequer  in 
Ireland,  and  a  supporter  of  Charles  I.    One  work  of  his,  Cooper's 
Hill,  (1O9)  will  always  occupy  an  important  place  in  English 
Literature ;  a  place  which  it  owes  not  only  to  its  specific  merits, 
but  also  to  the  circumstance  that  it  was  the  first  work  in  that 
peculiar  department,  called  local  or  topographic  poetry,  in  which 
the  writer  chooses  some  individual  scene  as  the  object  round 
which  he  is  to  accumulate  his  descriptive  or  contemplative  pas- 
sages.    Denham  selected  for  this  purpose  a  beautiful  spot  near 
Windsor  on  the  Thames,  and  in  the  description  of  the  scene 
itself,  as  well  as  in  the  reflections  it  suggests,  he  has  risen  to  a 
noble  elevation. 

225.  One  of  the  most  accomplished  and  influential  writers  of 
the   period  was  ABRAHAM  COWLEY  (1618-1667).  (11O,  111) 
He  was  a  remarkable  instance  of  intellectual  precocity,  for  in 
1633  he  published  his  first  poems,  filled  with  enthusiasm  by  the 
Faery  Qtieen  of  Spenser,  when  only  fifteen  years  of  age.    After 
residing  at  Cambridge  for  seven  years  he  was,  in  1643,  expelled 
for  his  Royalist  sympathies,  and  went  to  St.  John's  College,  in 
Oxford.     He  bore  among  his  contemporaries  the  reputation  of 
being  one  of  the  best  scholars  and  most  distinguished  poets  of  his 
age.     Notwithstanding  his  devotion  to,  and  sufferings  in,  the 
Royal  cause,  he  was  disappointed  in  obtaining  at  the  Restoration 
such  a  provision  as  he  thought  his  services  had  deserved;  but 
receiving  a  grant  of  some  Crown  leases,  producing  a  moderate 
income,  he  quitted  London  and  went  to  reside  near  Chertsey, 
with  the  intention  of  passing  the  rest  of  his  life  in  literary  ease. 
A  few  years  afterwards  he  died  of  a  fever  caused  by  imprudence 
and  excess,  but  not  before  he  had  learned  the  melancholy  truth 
that  annoyances  and  vexations  pursue  us  even  into  the  recesses 
of  rural  obscurity. 

22G.  Cowley  is  highly  regarded  among  the  writers  of  his  time 
both  as  a  poet  and  an  essayist.  Immense  and  multifarious 
learning,  well  digested  by  reflection,  renders  his -prose  works, 


A.  D.  1618-1667.  COWLEY.  131 

in  which  he  frequently  intermingles  passages  of  verse,  most 
delightful  reading.  As  a  poet,  the  reputation  of  Cowley,  im- 
mense in  his  own  day,  has  much  diminished ;  he  has  very  little 
passion  or  depth  of  sentiment;  and  in  his  love-verses,  col- 
lectively called  T/te  Mistress,  he  substitutes  the  play  of  the 
intellect  for  the  unaffected  outpouring  of  the  feelings.  He  par- 
aphrased the  Odes  of  Ana cr eon;  and  his  Pindarics  were  u  written 
in  imitation  of  the  Stile  and  Manner  of  Pindar ;  "  but  these  odes 
have  only  an  external  resemblance  to  those  of  the  "  Theban 
Eagle."  Cowley  seems  always  on  the  watch  to  seize  some  in- 
genious and  unexpected  parallelism  of  ideas  or  images ;  and 
when  the  illustration  is  so  found,  the  shock  of  surprise  which 
the  reader  feels  is  rather  akin  to  a  flash  of  wit  than  to  an  electric 
stroke  of  genius.  In  the  mighty  movement  to  which  the  Royal 
Society  owed  its  foundation  Cowley  deeply  sympathized ;  and 
perhaps  the  finest  of  his  lyric  compositions  is  the  Ode  to  the 
ftoyal  Society,  in  which,  with  a  grave  and  well-adorned  elo- 
quence, he  proclaims  the  genius,  and  predicts  the  triumph,  of 
Bacon  and  his  disciples  in  physical  science. 

227.  One  long  epic  poem  of  great  pretension  Cowley  medi- 
tated, but  left  unfinished.  This  is  the  Davideis,  the  subject  of 
which  is  the  sufferings  and  glories  of  the  King  of  Israel.  But 
this  work  is  now  completely  neglected.  The  genius  of  Cowley 
was  far  more  lyric  than  epic;  and  in  his  shorter  compositions  he 
exerted  an  influence  upon  the  style  of  English  poetry  which  is 
especially  traceable  in  the  writings  of  Dryden,  Pope,  and  subse- 
quent poets. 


132  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.         CHAP.  XIII. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

THEOLOGICAL    WRITERS     OF    THE     CIVIL    WAR    AND    THE 
COMMONWEALTH. 

228.  THE  Civil  War  of  the  seventeenth  century  was  in  many 
respects  a  religious  as  well  as  a  political  contest;  and  the  prose 
literature  of  this  time,  therefore,  exhibits  a  strong  religious  or 
theological  character.     The  most  glorious  outburst  of  theologi- 
cal eloquence  which  the  Church  of  England  has  exhibited,  in 
the  writings  of  Jeremy  Taylor,  Barrow,  and  the  other  great  An- 
glican Fathers,  was  responded  to  by  the  appearance,  in  the  ranks 
of  the  sectaries,   of  many  remarkable  men,  hardly  inferior  to 
them  in  learning  and  genius,  and  fully  equal  in  earnestness  and 
enthusiasm. 

229.  JOHN  HALES  (1584-1656),  suvnamed  "  the  ever-memora- 
ble John  Hales,"  was  a  man  who  enjoyed  among  his  contem- 
poraries an  immense  reputation  for  the  vastness  of  his  learning 
and  the  acuteness  of  his  wit.     The  greater  part  of  his  writings 
are   controversial,   treating   on   the   politico-religious  questions 
that  then  agitated  men's  minds.     He  had  been  present  at  the 
Synod  of  Dort,  as  an  agent  of  the  English  Church,  and  has 
given  an  interesting  account  of  the  questions  debated  in  that 
assembly.  (112}     Both  in  his  controversial  writings  and  in  his 
sermons  he  exhibits  a  fine  example  of  that  rich  yet  chastened 
eloquence  which  characterizes  the  great  English  divines  of  the 
seventeenth  century. 

230.  WILLIAM  CIIILLIXGWORTH  (1602-1644),  also  an  eminent 
defender  of  Protestantism  against  the  Church  of  Rome,  was 
converted  to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  while  studying  at  Oxford, 
and  went  to  the  Jesuits'  College  at  Douay.     But  he  subsequently 
returned  to  Oxford,  renounced  his  new  faith,  and  published  in 
1637  his  celebrated  work  against  Catholicism,  entitled  The  Re- 
ligion of  the  Protestants  a  Safe  Way  to  Salvation.  (113}     "  His 
chief  excellence,"  says   Mr.    Hallam,   "  is  the  close   reasoning 
which  avoids  every  dangerous  admission,  and  yields  to  no  am- 


A.  D.  1608-1661.       THOMAS  FULLEB.  133 

biguousness  of  language.  In  later  times  his  book  obtained  a 
high  reputation;  he  was  called  the  immortal  Chillingworth;  he 
was  the  favorite  of  all  the  moderate  and  the  latitudinarian  writers, 
of  Tillotson,  Locke,  and  Warburton." 

231.  The  writings  of  SIR  THOMAS  BROWNE  (1605-1682),  though 
not  exclusively  theological,  belong,  chronologically  as  well  as  by 
their  style  and  manner,  to  this  department.  (114-)     He  was  an 
exceedingly  learned  man,  and  passed  the  greater  part  of  his  life 
in  practising  physic  in  the  ancient  city  of  Norwich.     Among  the 
most  popular  of  his  works  are  the  treatise  entitled  Hydriotaphiay 
or  Urn-Burial,  and  the  Essays  on  Vulgar  Errors,  which  bear 
the  name  of  Pseudoxia  Epidemics.     The  first  of  these  treatises 
was  suggested  by  the  digging  up  in  Norfolk  of  some  Roman 
funeral  urns ;   and  the  other  is  an  attempt  to  overthrow  many 
of  the  common  superstitions  and  erroneous  notions  on  various 
subjects.     They  are  the  frank  and  undisguised  outpourings  of 
one  of  the  most  eccentric  and  original  minds  that  ever  existed. 
At  every  step  the  author  starts  some  extraordinary  theory,  which 
he  illustrates  by  the  most  singular  and  unexpected  analogies, 
and  all  this  in  a  style  absolutely  bristling  with  quaint  Latinisms, 
which  in  another  writer  would  be  pedantic,  but  in  Browne  were 
the  natural  garb  of  his  thought.     All  this  makes  him  one  of  the 
most  amusing   of  writers ;    and   he  very  frequently  rises  to  a 
sombre  and  touching  eloquence.     The  book,  in  whtch  he  com- 
municates his  own  personal  opinions  and  feelings  most  unre- 
servedly, is  the  Religio  Medici,  a  species  of  Confession  of  Faith  ; 
in  which,  however,  he  by  no  means  confines  himself  to  theologi- 
cal matters.     • 

232.  THOMAS  FULLER  (1608-1661)  is  another  great  and  attrac- 
tive prose-writer  of  this  period,  and  has  in  some  respects  a  kind 
of  intellectual  resemblance  to  Browne.     Educated  at  Cambridge, 
he  entered  the  Church,  and  soon  rendering  himself  conspicuous 
in  the  pulpit,  he  was  nominated  preacher  at  the  Savoy  in  Lon- 
don.    At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  he  excited  the  dissatis- 
faction of  both  factions  by  his  studied  moderation ;  but  was  for 
a  time  attached,  as   chaplain,  to  the   army  commanded  by  Sir 
Ralph  Hopton  in  the  West  of  England.     During  his  campaign- 
ing Fuller  industriously  collected    the  materials  for  his   most 
popular   work,   the    Worthies   of  England  and   Wales,  which, 
however,  was  not  published  until  after  the  author's  death.    This, 
more  than  his    Church  History,  is  the  production  with  which 


134  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.        CHAP.  XIII. 

posterity  has  generally  associated  the  name  of  Fuller:  but  his 
Sermons  frequently  exhibit  those  singular  peculiarities  of  style 
which  render  him  one  of  the  most  remarkable  writers  of  his 
age.  (115}  His  writings  are  eminently  amusing;  not  only 
from  the  multiplicity  of  curious  and  anecdotic  details  which 
they  contain,  but  from  the  odd  and  yet  frequently  profound  re- 
flections suggested  by  those  details.  The  Worthies  contain 
biographical  notices  of  eminent  Englishmen,  as  connected  with 
the  different  counties,  and  furnish  an  inexhaustible  treasure  of 
curious  stories  and  observations  :  but  whatever  the  subject  Fuller 
treats,  he  places  it  in  such  a  number  of  new  and  unexpected 
lights,  and  introduces  in  illustration  of  it  such  a  number  of 
ingenious  remarks,  that  the  attention  of  the  reader  is  incessantly 
kept  alive!  He  was  a  man  of  a  pleasant  as  well  as  an  ingenious 
turn  of  mind :  there  is  no  sourness  in  his  way  of  thinking; 
flashes  of  fancy  are  made  to  light  up  the  gravest  subjects,  and 
the  sparkle  of  his  wit  is  warmed  by  a  glow  of  sympathy  and 
tenderness.  One  great  source  of  his  picturesqueness  is  his  fre- 
quent use  of  antithesis;  not  a  bare  opposition  of  words,  but  the 
juxtaposition  of  apparently  discordant  ideas,  from  whose  sud- 
den contact  there  flashes  forth  the  spark  of  wit.  In  a  word,  he 
was  essentially  a  wise  and  learned  humorist. 

233.  But  by  far  the  greatest  theological  writer  of  the  Angli- 
can Church  at  this  period  was  JEREMY  TAYLOR  (1613-1667). 
The  son  of  a  barber  at  Cambridge,  he  received  a  sound  educa- 
tion at  the  Grammar-School  of  that  town,  and  afterwards  studied 
at  Caius  College,  where  his  talents  and  learning  soon  made  him 
conspicuous.  He  took  holy  orders  at  an  unusually  early  age, 
and  is  said  to  have  attracted  by  his  youthful  eloquence  the  notice 
of  Laud,  who,  struck  with  a  sermon  of  Taylor's,  made  him  one 
of  his  chaplains,  and  procured  for  him  a  fellowship  in  All  Souls' 
College,  Oxford.  During  the  Civil  War  he  stood  high  in  the 
favor  of  the  Cavaliers  and  the  Court;  and,  whilst  serving  as 
chaplain  in  the  Royalist  army,  was  taken  prisoner  in  1644  at  the 
action  fought  under  the  walls  of  Cardigan  Castle.  The  King's 
cause  growing  desperate,  Taylor  placed  himself  under  the  protec- 
tion of  his  friend  Lord  Carbery,  and  resided  for  some  time  at  the 
seat  of  Golden  Grove,  belonging  to  that  nobleman  in  Carmarthen- 
shire. Taylor  was  twice  married  ;  first  to  Phoebe  Langdale,  who 
died  early,  and  afterwards  to  Joanna  Bridges,  a  natural  daughter 
of  Charles  I.,  with  whom  he  received  some  fortune.  He  was  un- 


A.  D.  1613-1667.         JEEEMY  TATLOE.  135 

happy  in  his  children,  his  two  sons  having  been  notorious  for 
their  profligacy;  and  he  had  the  sorrow  of  surviving  them  both. 
He  underwent  many  hardships  and  persecutions  during  the 
Commonwealth  period ;  but  on  the  Restoration  he  was  made 
Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor,  and  during  the  short  time  he  held 
that  preferment  he  exhibited  the  brightest  qualities  that  can 
adorn  the  episcopal  dignity.  He  died  at  Lisburn  of  a  fever,  in 
1667,  and  left  behind  him  a  high  reputation  for  courtesy,  charity, 
and  zeal  —  all  the  virtues  of  a  Christian  Bishop.  (110) 

234.  In    the   controversial    department  Taylor's   best-known 
work  is  the  treatise  On  the  Liberty  of  Prophesying  (/.  e.,  Preach- 
ing), published  in  1647,  which  is  the  first  complete  and  system- 
atic defence  of  the  great  principle  of  religious  toleration ;  and 
though  intended  by  Taylor  to  secure  indulgence  for  the  then 
persecuted  Episcopal  Church,  is,  of  course,  equally  applicable 
to  all  forms  of  religion.      An  Apology  for  Fixed  and  Set  Forms 
of  Worship  was  an  elaborate  defence  of  the  noble  ritual  of  the 
Anglican    Church.      Among   his  works   of  a  disciplinary  and 
practical  tendency   may  be   mentioned  his  Life  of  Christ,   ths 
Great  Exemplar,   in   which  the    details   scattered  through   the 
Evangelists  and  the  Fathers,  are  co-ordinated  in  a  continuous 
narrative.     But  the  most  popular  of  Taylor's  writings  are  the 
two   admirable    treatises,    On   the   Rule  and  Exercise  of  Holy 
Living,  and   On  the  Rule  and  Exercise  of  Holy  Dying,  whicl 
mutually  correspond  to  and  complete  each   other,   and  which 
form  an  Institute  of  Christian  life  and  conduct,  adapted  to  every 
conceivable    circumstance   and    relation   of   human    existence. 
The    least  admirable  of  his   numerous  writings  is  the  Ductor 
Dubitantium,  a  treatise  on  questions  of  casuistry.     His.  Sermons 
are  very  numerous,  and  are  among  the  most  eloquent,  learned, 
and  powerful,  that  the  whole   range   of  Protestant — nay,   the 
whole  range  of  Christian       literature  has  produced.      As  in  his 
character,  so  in  his  writings,  Taylor  is  the  ideal  of  an  Anglican 
pastor,  exhibiting  in  both  the  union  of  consummate  learning 
with  practical  simplicity  and  fervor. 

235.  Taylor's    style,    though    occasionally   overcharged   with 
erudition,  and  marked    by  that  abuse  of  quotation  which  dis- 
figures a  great  deal  of  the  prose  of  that  age,  is  uniformly  mag- 
nificent; his  periods  roll  on  with  a  soft  yet  mighty  swell,  which 
has  often  something  of  the  enchantment  of  verse.     He  has  been 
called  by  the  critic  Jeffrey  "  the  most  Shakspearian  of  our  great 


136  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.         CHAP.  XIII. 

divines  ;  "  but  it  would  be  more  appropriate  to  compare  him  with 
Spenser.  He  has  the  same  pictorial  fancy,  the  same  voluptuous 
and  languishing  harmony,  as  the  latter;  though,  like  Shak- 
speare,  he  draws  his  illustrations  from  the  simplest  and  most 
familiar  objects,  and  knows  how  to  paint  the  terrible  and  the 
sublime  no  less  than  the  tender  and  the  affecting.  Neverthe- 
less, with  Spenser's  sweetness,  he  has  occasionally  something 
of  the  luscious  and  enervate  languor  of  Spenser's  style.  He  had 
studied  the  Fathers  so  intensely  that  he  had  become  infected 
with  something  of  that  lavish  and  Oriental  imagery  which  many 
of  those  great  writers  exhibited. 

236.  Many  men  eminent  for  learning,   piety,  and  zeal,   ap- 
peared in  the  ranks  of  the  Nonconformists;  but  if  we  omit  the 
grandest  names  of  all  —  Milton  and  Bunyan  —  who  are  reserved 
for   subsequent   chapters,    the   only  writer  claiming  a  distinct 
notice  here  is  Richard  Baxter. 

237.  RICHARD  BAXTER  (1615-1691)  was  the  consistent  and  un- 
conquerable defender  of  the  right  of  religious  liberty ;  and  in  the 
evil  days  of  James  II.  was  exposed  to  all  the  virulence  and  bru- 
tality of  the  infamous  Jeffreys  and  his  worse  than  inquisitorial 
tribunal.     He  was  a  man  of  vast  learning,  the  purest  piety,  and 
the  most  indefatigable  industry.     His  works  are  little  known  in 
the  present  day,  with  the  exception  of  The  Saints'  Everlasting 
Rest,  and  A  Call  to  the  Unconverted.  (117} 


A.  D.  1608-1674.  JOHN  MILTON.  137 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

JOHN   MILTON. 

238.  ABOVE  the  seventeenth  century  towers,  in  solitary  gran- 
deur, the  sublime  figure  of  JOHN  MILTON  (1608-1674).  He  was 
born  on  the  gth  December,  1608,  in  Bread-street,  London,  and 
was  sprung  from  an  ancient  and  gentle  stock.  His  father,  an 
ardent  Puritan,  from  whom  the  great  poet  seems  to  have  in- 
herited his  political  and  religious  sympathies,  had  quarrelled 
with  his  relations;  and  embracing  the  profession  of  a  money- 
scrivener,  had  amassed  a  considerable  fortune,  so  as  to  be  able 
to  retire  to  a  pleasant  countryrhouse  at  Horton,  near  Colnbrook, 
in  Buckinghamshire.  The  son  was  most  carefully  educated, 
first  at  home  under  Thomas  Young,  then  at  St.  Paul's  School, 
London,  whence,  in  his  seventeenth  year,  he  entered  Christ's 
College,  Cambridge.  He  left  Cambridge  in  1632,  after  taking 
his  Master's  degree,  and  there  are  many  allusions  in  his  works 
which  prove  that  the  doctrines  and  discipline  of  the  University 
at  that  time  contained  much  that  was  distasteful  to  his  haughty 
and  uncontrolled  spirit.  His  first  attempts  in  poetry  were  made 
as  early  as  his  thirteenth  year,  so  that  he  is  as  striking  an  in- 
stance of  precocity  as  of  power  of  genius;  and  his  sublime  Hymn 
on  the  Nativity,  (121}  in  which  may  plainly  be  seen  all  the 
characteristic  features  of  his  intellectual  nature,  was  written  in 
his  twenty-first  year.  On  leaving  the  University  he  resided  for 
six  years  at  his  father's  seat  at  Horton,  where  he  passed  his 
time  in  a  course  of  study  that  seems  to  have  embraced  the  whole 
circle  of  human  knowledge.  During  this  period  of  his  life  he 
wrote  the  pastoral  drama,  or  Masque,  of  Comus,  (122)  the 
lovely  elegy  on  his  friend  King  entitled  Lycidas,  (123)  and  in 
all  probability  the  descriptive  gems  L?  Allegro  (124)  and  // 
Penseroso.  (125)  At  this  epoch  his  mind  seems  to  have  ex- 
hibited that  exquisite  susceptibility  to  all  refined,  courtly,  and 
noble  emotions  which  is  so  faithfully  reflected  in  these  works 
—  emotions  not  incompatible  in  him  with  the  severest  purity  of 
sentiment  and  the  loftiest  dignity  of  principle. 


138  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.          CHAP.  XIV. 

239.  In  1638  the  poet,  now  about  thirty,  set  out  upon  his  travels 
on  the  Continent —  the  completion  of  a  perfect  education.   He  vis- 
ited the  most  celebrated  cities  of  Italy,  France,  and  Switzerland. 
He  was  received  everywhere  with  marked  respect  and  admiration, 
and  appears  to  have  made  acquaintance  with  all  who  were  most 
illustrious  for  learning  and  genius;  with  Galileo,  "then  grown 
old,  a  prisoner  in  the  Inquisition;"  with  John  Diodati,  a  cele- 
brated professor  of  theology  at  Geneva,  and  uncie  to  his  bosom- 
friend,    Charles  Diodati ;    with   Manso,   Marquis   of  Villa,    the 
distinguished  poet  and  well-known  friend  of  Torquato  Tasso. 
These  friendships  were  in  some  degree  the  suggesting  motive  of 
many  of  his  Italian  and  Latin  poems  ;  for  in  the  former  language 
he  wrote  at  least  as  well  as  the  majority  of  the  contemporary 
poets  of  any  but  the  first  class,  and  in  the  latter  his  compo- 
sitions have  never  been   surpassed   by  any  modern  writer   of 
Latin  verse.     But  in  spite  of  his  eager  desire  to  visit  Greece,  he 
was'  recalled  to  England  in  1639  ^J  the  firs^  rnutterings  of  that 
political  tempest  which  was  for  a  time  to  overthrow  the  Mon- 
archy and  the  Church.     Into  this  momentous  conflict  he  threw 
himself  with  all  the  ardor  of  his  temperament  and  convictions; 
and  from  this  period  begins  the  second  phase  of  his  many-sided 
life. 

240.  To  this,  the  most  active  period  of  Milton's  career,  belong 
almost  all  his  prose  writings,  which  were  mainly  controversial ; 
and  for  twenty  years  he  was  the  advocate  of  republican  princi- 
ples in  the  State,  and  the  most  uncompromising  enemy  of  the 
Episcopal  Church.    His  fortune  being  small,  he  opened  a  schoo 
in  1640;  but  among  those  who  had  the  honor  of  his  instructio 
only  two  persons  are  at  all  celebrated  —  his  nephews,  John  an 
Edward  Phillips,  who  have  contributed  some  details  to  the  his- 
tory of  English  Poetry. 

241.  In   1643  he   married  Mary  Powell,    the  daughter  of  a 
ruined  country  gentleman  of  strong  Royalist  sympathies ;  but 
soon  disgusted  with  the  austerity  of  Milton's  life,  she  fled  to  her 
father's  house,  and  was  only  recalled  to  the  conjugal  roof  by  a 
report  that  her  husband,  basing  his   determination  upon   the 
Levitical  law,  was  meditating  a  new  marriage  with  another  per- 
son.   The  lady  was  forgiven  by  her  husband;  but  the  remaining 
years  of  her  marriage  were  probably  not  happy,  though  three 
daughters  were  the  fruit  of  the  union.     It  is  to  this  unfortunate 
incident  in  the  poet's  life  that  we  owe  his  writings  on  Divorce. 


A.  D.  1603-1674.  MILTON.  139 

The  finest  of  the  prose  compositions  produced  at  this  epoch  was 
the  Areopagitica  (1644),  an  oration  after  the  antique  model,  ad- 
dressed to  the  Parliament  of  England  in  defence  of  the  Liberty 
of  the  Press.  (139) 

242.  In  1649  Milton  received  the  appointment  of  Latin  Secre- 
tary to  the  Council  of  State,  a  post  which  he  retained  under  the 
administration  of  Cromwell ;  though,  probably  in  consideration 
of  his  rapidly-increasing  infirmity  of  sight,  were  joined  with  him 
in  his  office  first  Meadowes,  and  afterwards  the  excellent  and 
accomplished  Marvell.     In   1652  the  loss  of  his  sight  became 
total ;  which  calamity,  in  one  of  his  finest  sonnets,  he  proudly 
attributes  to  his  having  overtasked  it  in  the  defence  of  liberty; 
and  in  the   character  of  the  blinded  Samson   he  undoubtedly 
shadows  forth  his  own   infirmity  and  his  own  feelings.     It  is 
noteworthy  that  in  many  passages,  both  in  prose  and  verse,  he 
expresses  his  sympathy  with  the    glorious   administration  and 
great  personal  qualities  of  Cromwell ;  the  faults  of  whose  career 
he  probably  excused  in  consideration  of  the  benefits  which  ac- 
companied and  the  patriotic  spirit  which  animated  it. 

243.  Milton's  most  celebrated  controversy  was  that  with  Sal- 
masius  (de  Saumaise),  one  of  the  most  learned  men  of  his  day, 
who  had  been  employed  by  Charles  II.  to  write  what  mav  be 
called  a  ponderous  Latin  pamphlet,  invoking  the  vengeance  of 
Heaven  upon  the  regicide  Parliament  of  England.     Milton  re- 
plied in  his   Defensio  Populi  Atiglicani,  maintaining  the  right 
and  justifying  the  conduct  of  his  countrymen    in   making  war 
upon,  dethroning,  and  decapitating  their  king.     His  invectives 
are  not  less  violent  than  those  of  his  antagonist,  his  Latinity  is 
not  less  elegant,  but  the  controversy  is  as  little  honorable  to  the 
one  as  to  the  other  combatant.     The  subjects  of  Milton's  prose 
writings,  for  the  most  part,  had  only  a  temporary  interest;  but 
among  those  written  in  English  we  may  note  the  Apology  for 
Smcctymnuus,  in  which  Milton  defends  the  conclusions  of  that 
famous  pamphlet;  *  in  these  controversial  writings  he  occasion- 
ally rises  to   a  massive  high-toned  eloquence  in  those  outbursts 
of  enthusiasm  that  are  intermingled  with  drier  matter;  the  book 
called  Iconoclastcs  or  the  Image-breaker —  intended  to  neutralize 
•the  effect  of  the  celebrated  Icon  Basilike,  written  by  Dr.  (after- 
wards Bishop)  Gauden,  in  the  character  of  Charles  I. ;   The  Rea- 

*  This  strange  name  is  a  kind  of  anagram  composed  of  the  initials  of  its  five  authors,  the 
chief  of  whom  was  Thomas  Young,  Milton's  deeply-venerated  Turitau  preceptor. 


140  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.         CHAP.  XIV. 

son  oj  Church  Government  Urged  against  Prelaty ;  and  A  Ready 
and  Easy  Way  to  Establish  a  Free  Commonwealth  ;  which  exhibit 
in  their  titles  the  nature  of  their  subjects.  In  his  Tractate  on 
Education,  which  appeared  in  1644,  he  has  drawn  up  a  beautiful, 
but  entirely  Utopian,  scheme  for  remodelling  the  whole  system 
of  training,  and  reducing  it  to  something  like  the  antique  pat- 
tern. 

244.  The  Restoration,  in   1660,  was  naturally  the  signal  of 
distress  and  persecution  to  one  who  by  his  writings  had  shown 
himself  the  most  consistent,  persevering,  and  formidable  enemy 
of  monarchy  and  episcopacy,  and  who  had  attacked,  with  particu- 
lar vehemence,  the  character  of  Charles  I.    He  concealed  himself; 
but  a  proclamation  was  issued  against  him,  and  for  a  time  his 
fate  was  uncertain.     After  a  few  months,  however,  the  Act  of 
Indemnity  was  passed  without  his  name  appearing  in  the  list 
of  exceptions;  and  the  great  poet  was  safe.     It  is  said  that  Sir 
W.  Davenant  successfully  used  his  influence  in  his  favor.     From 
this  period  till  his  death  he  lived  in   close   retirement,  busily 
occupied  in  the  composition  of  Paradise  Lost  (126-134}  and 
Paradise   Regained.  (135)     The    former   of   these  woi'ks   was 
finished  in  1665,  and  had  been  his  principal  employment  during 
about   seven   years.      The   companion  .epic,    a  work   of   much 
shorter   extent,   as  well  as  the  noble  and  pathetic  tragedy  of 
Samson   Agonistes.    was  published   in  the  year  1671.     On    the 
8th  of  November,  1674,  Milton  died,  at  the  age  of  sixty-six,  and 
was  buried  in  Cripplegate  churchyard.     His  first  wife  had  died 
about  1652,  leaving  him  three  daughters;  his  second,  Katharine 
Woodcock,  in  1658,  after  little  more  than  a  year's  marriage ;  but 
his  third,  Elizabeth  Minshull,  whom  he  espoused  about  1664, 
survived  him  for  thirty  years. 

245.  Milton's  literary  career  divides  itself  naturally  into  three 
great  periods  —  that  of  his  youth,  that  of  his  manhood,  and  that 
of  his  old  age.     The  first  may  be  roughly  stated  as  extending 
from  1623  to  1640;  the  second  from  1640  to  1660,  the  date  of  the 
Restoration ;  and  the  third  from  the  Restoration  to  the  poet's 
death  in  1674.     During  the  first  of  these  he  produced  the  princi- 
pal poetical  works  marked  by  a  graceful,  tender  character,  and 
on  miscellaneous  subjects ;  during  the  second  he  was  chiefly  oc- 
cupied with  his  prose  controversies;  and  in  the  third  we  see  him 
slowly  elaborating  the  Paradise  Lost,  (126-134}  the  Paradise 
Regained,  (135)  and  the  Samson  Agonistes.  (136) 


A.  D.  1608-1674.  MILTON.  141 

246.  (i.)  The  chief  qualities  that  distinguish  his  early  poems, 
—  of  which  the  most  notable  are  The  Hymn  on  the  Nativity, 
L1  Allegro,  II  Penseroso,  Arcades,  Comus,  and  Lycidas  —  are  a 
peculiar  majesty  of  conception  combined  with  consummate 
though  somewhat  austere  harmony  and  grace.  Above  all  there 
is  visible,  in  even  the  least  elaborate  of  Milton's  poems,  a  pecu- 
liar solemn  weighty  melody  of  versification,  that  fills  and  satis- 
fies the  ear  like  the  billowy  sound  of  a  mighty  organ  ;  of  which 
quality  the  Hymn  on  the  Nativity  (121}  is  the  most  brilliant 
example.  This  magnificent  ode  is  a  fitting  prelude  to  the  Para- 
dise Lost.  i 

24:7.  In  the  Masque  of  Comus,  (122}  Milton  communicated 
to  what  was  originally  a  mere  vehicle  for  elegant  adulation  a 
pure  and  lofty  ethical  tone,  that  soars  into  the  very  empyrean 
of  moral  speculation.  This  drama  was  written  in  1634,  to  be 
performed  at  Ludlow  Castle,  in  the  presence  of  the  Earl  of 
Bridgewater,  lately  appointed  Lord  President  of  Wales.  It 
seems  to  have  been  composed  at  the  request  of  Henry  Lawes, 
then  a  well-known  musician  and  composer  in  the  service  of  the 
Earl,  and  an  intimate  friend  of  Milton.  The  characters  are  few, 
consisting  of  the  lady,  a  part  played  by  the  Lady  Alice  Egerton, 
the  two  Brothers,  Comus  (a  wicked  enchanter,  the  allegorical 
representative  of  vicious  and  sensual  pleasure),  and  the  Attend- 
ant Spirit,  disguised  as  a  shepherd,  which  part  was  acted  by 
Lawes  (alluded  to  in  v.  68  of  the  poem).  The  plot  is  exceed- 
ingly simple,  rather  lyric  than  dramatic.  The  delineation  of 
passion  forms  no  part  of  the  poet's  aim ;  but  the  dialogues  are 
inexpressibly  noble  —  not  however  as  diafogues,  for  they  must 
rather  be  regarded  as  a  series  of  exquisite  soliloquies  setting 
forth,  in  pure  and  musical  eloquence,  like  that  of  Plato,  the 
loftiest  abstractions  of  love  and  virtue ;  and  the  songs  inter- 
spersed are  of  consummate  melody.  For  instance,  the  drinking 
chorus  of  Comus's  rout,  the  Echo-song,  and  the  admirable  pas- 
sages with  which  the  Attendant  Spirit  opens  and  concludes  the 
piece.  The  general  character  of  this  production  Milton  un- 
doubtedly borrowed,  so  far  as  it  was  borrowed  at  all,  from 
Fletcher's  Faithful  Shepherdess  and  from  Jonson's  Masques  and 
his  delicious  fragment  of  a  pastoral  drama.  In  a  somewhat  simi- 
lar strain  to  Comus,  Milton  had  before  composed  a  fragment  en- 
titled Arcades,  performed  at  Harefield  in  honor  of  the  Countess 
of  Derby  by  her  grandchildren,  the  daughter  and  two  sons  of 


142  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.         CHAP.  XIV. 

the  Earl  of  Bridge-water.  Though  the  portion  contributed  by 
the  poet  is  comparatively  inconsiderable,  it  exhibits  all  his 
usual  characteristics. 

248.  Lycidas  (123*)  was  a  tribute  of  affection  to  the  memory 
of  his  friend  and  fellow-student,  Edward  King,  a  youth  of  great 
promise,  lost  at  sea  in  a  voyage  to  Ireland,  where  he  was  about 
to  undertake  the  duties  of  a  clergyman.  The  pastoral  form  is 
adopted  in  the  poem ;  and  throughout  we  meet  with  a  mixture 
of  rural  description,  classical  and  mythological  allegory,  and 
theological  allusions  borrowed  from  the  Christian  system;  but 
the  shock  given  to  the  reader's  taste  by  this  apparent  incongru- 
ity is  in  a  great  measure  softened  away  by  the  abstract  and  poet- 
ical air  of  the  whole,  and  by  the  art  with  which  the  transitions 
are  managed.  Even  the  apparition  of  St.  Peter  among  the  sea- 
nymphs  is  forgotten  by  the  reader  amid  the  exhaustless  beauty 
of  imagery  which  is  displayed  throughout.  From  a  solemn  and 
psalm-like  grandeur  to  the  airiest  and  most  delicate  playfulness, 
every  variety  of  music  may  be  found  in  Lycidas  ;  and  the  poet 
has  shown  that  our  Northern  speech,  though  naturally  harsh 
and  rugged,  may  be  made  to  echo  the  softest  melody  of  the 
Italian  lyre.  The  two  descriptive  poems,  L' Allegro  (12£)  and 
//  Penscroso,  (125}  are  of  nearly  the  same  length,  and  written 
in  the  same  metre,  consisting,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  longer 
and  irregular  lines  of  invocation  at  the  beginning  of  each,  of 
the  short-rhymed  octosyllabic  measure.  In  the  Allegro  the  poet 
describes  scenery,  and  various  occupations  and  amusements  as 
contemplated  by  a  man  of  joyous  and  cheerful  temperament;  in 
the  Penseroso  not  dissimilar  objects  viewed  by  a  person  of  seri- 
ous, thoughtful,  and  studious  character.  The  individuality  of 
the  poet  is  seen  in  the  calm  and  somewhat  grave  cheerfulness  of 
the  one,  as  well  as  in  the  tranquil,  though  not  sombre,  medita- 
tiveness  of  the  other.  His  joy  is  without  frivolity,  as  his  thought- 
fulness  is  without  gloom.  The  Cheerful  Man  is  awakened  by 
the  lark,  the  cock,  and  the  hunter's  horn;  and  walks  out,  "by 
hedge-row  elms  and  hillocks  green,"  to  see  the  gorgeous  sunrise. 
After  a  charming  picture  of  rustic  life,  and  a  village  festival,  the 
day  terminates  with  ghost  stories  and  fairy  legends  related  over 
the  "  nutbrown  ale,"  round  the  farm-house  fire.  The  poem  ends 
with  one  of  the  most  admirable  of  those  many  passages  in  ^  -hich 
Milton  has  at  once  celebrated  and  exemplified  the  charms  of 
music.  Music  was  his  favorite  art:  he  inherited  from  hiy  father 


A.  D.  1G08-1674.  MILTON.  143 

an  intense  love  for  and  no  mean  skill  in  it;  it  was  afterwards  his 
best  —  perhaps  his  highest  —  consolation  in  his  poverty  and 
blindness;  and  assuredly  no  poet  in  any  language  has  shown 
such  a  deep  sensibility  to  its  enchantments.  In  the  JPennercso 
(125}  we  have  the  contemplative  wandering  in  the  moonlit 
forest;  the  song  of  the  nightingale,  and  the  solemn  sound  of 
the  curfew,  "over  some  wide-watered  shore,  swinging  slow  with 
sullen  roar;"  and  the  meditation  over  the  glowing  embers  in 
some  solitary  chamber.  The  long  watches  of  the  night  are 
passed  in  penetrating  the  sublime  mysteries  of  philosophy  with 
Plato,  in  studying  the  solemn  scenes  of  the  great  dramatists  of 
Greece,  and  in  following  the  wild  and  wondrous  legends  of  chi- 
valric  tradition  and  poetry.  The  poem  ends  with  an  aspiration 
after  an  old  age  of  hermit-like  repose  and  contemplation. 

249.  The  Latin  poems  of  Milton  belong  principally  to  his 
youth ;  and  in  felicity  of  diction  have  never  been  equalled  by 
modern  writers  of  Latin  verse.     The  Elegies,  however,  graceful 
as  they  are,  arc  less  interesting  than  the  Epistolce  addressed  to 
his  literary  friends :  as,  for  example,  the  exquisite  Mansus,  and 
the  Latin  verses  to  Charles  Diodati.     These,  from  their  per- 
sonal and  intimate  character,  possess  the  charm  of  bringing  us 
nearer  to  the  thoughts,  the  tastes,  and  the  individual  occupa- 
tions of  the  poet.     In  many  passages,  too,  of  these  poems  we 
see  striking  examples  of  that  powerful  conception  which  distin- 
guishes Milton ;  as  in  his  verses  on  the  Gunpowder  Plot  there 
are  impersonations  which  give  us  a  foretaste  of  the  Paradise 
Lost. 

250.  Though  a  few  of  Milton's  sonnets  are  playful  and  almost 
ludicrous  in  their  subject,  the  majority  are  of  that  lofty,  grave, 
and  solemn  character  which  seems  most  congenial  to  his  spirit. 
Sidney,  Spenser,  Shakspeare,  and  a  host  of  inferior  poets,  had 
written  sonnets,  some  of  a  very  high^ degree  of  beauty;  but  it 
was  reserved  to  Milton  to  transport  into  his  native  country  the 
Italian  sonnet  in  its  highest  form.     Religion,  patriotism,  domes- 
tic affection,  are  his  themes ;  and  among  the  finest  of  them  may 
be    specified    those    To   the   Nightingale  ;    To    Cromivell ;    To 
Cyriac  Skinner,  on  his  blindness;  On  his  Blindness  ;  (137}  On 
the  Late  Massacre  in  Picmont ;  (138)  and  When   the  Assault 
was  Intended  on  the  City. 

251.  (ii.)  The  second  period  of  Milton's  literary  life  is  filled 
with  political  and  religious  controversy.     Of  these  prose  works 


144  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.         CHAP.  XIV. 

we  have  already  spoken.  Those  who  are  unacquainted  with 
them  are  incapable  of  forming  an  idea  of  the  entire  personality 
of  Milton.  Whether  written  in  Latin  or  in  English,  these  pro- 
ductions bear  the  stamp  of  his  mind.  They  are  crowded  with 
vast  and  abstruse  erudition ;  and  the  learning  is,  as  it  were, 
fused  into  a  burning  mass  by  the  fervor  of  enthusiasm.  The 
prose  style  of  Milton  is  remarkable  for  a  weighty  and  ornate 
magnificence,  under  the  burden  of  which  he  moves  with  as  much 
ease  as  did  the  champions  of  the  Round  Table  under  their  pon- 
derous panoply.  When  lashed  to  anger  by  the  calumnies  di- 
rected against  the  purity  of  his  personal  life,  he  gives  us,  in 
majestic  eloquence,  a  picture  of  his  own  studies,  labors,  and 
literary  aspirations,  interesting  in  themselves,  and  striking  from 
the  beauty  of  the  language. 

252.  (iii.)  There  is  no  spectacle  in  the  history  of  literature 
more  touching  and  sublime  than  Milton  blind,  poor,  persecuted, 
and  alone,  "  fallen  upon  evil  days  and  evil  tongues,  in  darkness 
and  with  dangers  compassed  round,"  retiring  into  obscurity  to 
compose  those   immortal    Epics,   Paradise  Lost   and  Paradise 
Regained,  which  have  placed  him  among  the  greatest  poets  of 
all   time.     The  Paradise  Lost  {120}  was  originally  composed 
in  Ten  Books,  which  were  afterwards  so  divided  as  to  make 
twelve.     Its  composition,  though  the  work  was  probably  medi- 
tated long  before,  occupied  about  seven  years,  that  is,  from  16 
to  1665 ;  and  it  was   first  published  in  1667.     Its   subject  is 
grandest  that  ever  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to  concei 

It  differs  from  the  great  Epic  poems  of  Antiquity  in  that 
supernatural  portion  is  not  merely  accessory  and  subsidiary 
the  development  of  the  main  plot;  but  the  entire  action  moves 
among  celestial  and  infernal  personages  and  scenes ;  and  the 
poet  does  not  hesitate  to  usher  us  into  the  awful  presence  of 
Deity  itself.  This  subject  is  so  intensely  interesting  to  all,  that 
no  sketch  so  full  could  be  given  here,  which  would  satisfy  the 
reader,  or  to  any  extent  assist  him  in  comprehending  it.  Noth- 
ing but  an  acquaintance  with  the  work  itself  would  suffice. 

253.  The  peculiar  form  of  blank  verse  in  which  it,  as.  well  as 
the  Paradise  Regained,  {135}  is  written,  was,  if  not  absolutely 
invented  by  Milton,  at  least  first  employed  by  him  in  the  narra- 
tive or  epic  form  of  poetry;    and  acquires,  in  his  hands,  a  dis- 
tinctive tone  and  rhythm.     It  is  exceedingly  solemn,  dignified, 
and  varied  with  such  inexhaustible  flexibility  that  the  re 


ader 


A.  D.  1608-1674.  MILTON.  145 

will  hardly  ever  be  able  to  find  two  verses  of  similar  structure 
and  accentuation  —  at  least,  except  at  a  considerable  distance 
from  each  other.  In  the  incidents  and  personages  of  the  poem 
we  find  extreme  simplicity  united  with  the  richest  complexity 
and  inventiveness.  Where  it  suited  his  purpose,  Milton  closely 
followed  the  severe  condensation  of  the  Scriptural  narrative, 
where  the  whole  history  of  primitive  mankind  is  related  in  a 
few  sentences;  and  where  his  subject  required  him  to  give  a 
loose  rein  to  his  invention,  he  showed  that  no  poet  ever  sur- 
passed him  in  fertility  of  conception.  The  description  of  the 
fallen  angels,  the  splendor  of  Heaven,  the  horrors  of  hell,  the 
ideal  yet  natural  loveliness  of  Paradise,  exhibit  not  only  a  per- 
ception of  all  that  is  awful,  sublime,  or  attractive,  in  landscape 
and  natural  phenomena,  but  the  power  of  overstepping  the 
bounds  of  our  earthly  experience,  and  so  realizing  scenes  of 
superhuman  beauty  or  horror,  that  they  are  presented  to  the 
reader's  eye  with  a  vividness  rivalling  that  of  the  memory  itself. 
The  characters  introduced,  the  Deity  and  His  celestial  host,  Satan 
and  his  infernal  followers,  and,  perhaps  above  all,  the  ideal  and 
heroic,  yet  intensely  human  personages  of  our  first  Parents  in 
their  state  of  innocence,  bear  witness  alike  to  the  fertility  of 
Milton's  invention,  the  severity  of  his  taste,  and  the  loftiness  of 
what  we  may  style  his  artistic  morality.  Milton's  Satan  (127) 
is  no  caricature  of  the  popular  demon  of  vulgar  superstition  ;  he 
is  not  less  than  Archangel,  though  archangel  ruined ;  and  in 
him,  as  well  as  in  his  attendant  spirits,  the  poet  has  given  sub- 
limity as  well  as  variety  to  his  infernal  agencies,  by  investing 
them  with  the  most  lofty  or  terrible  attributes  of  the  divinities 
of  classical  mythology.  Milton  is  pre-eminently  the  poet  of  the 
learned ;  for  however  imposing  may  be  his  pictures  even  to  the 
mo»t  uncultivated  intellect,  it  is  only  to  a  reader  familiar  with  a 
large  extent  of  classical  and  Biblical  reading  that  he  displays 
his  full  powers.  In  the  personages  and  characters  of  Adam  and 
Eve  (132}  he  has  solved  perhaps  the  most  difficult  problem  pre- 
sented by  his  undertaking — that  of  representing  two  human 
beings  in  a  position  which  no  other  human  beings  ever  did  or 
ever  can  occupy;  and  "endowed  with  such  feelings  and  senti- 
ments as  they  alone  could  have  experienced.  There  is  nothing 
more  admirable  than  the  intense  humanity  with  which  Milton 
has  clothed  them ;  while  at  the  same  time  they  are  truly  ideal 
impersonations  of  love,  innocence,  and  worship.  It  has  been 
10 


146  ENGLISH  LITEEATURE.         CHAP.  XIV. 

objected  that  Adam  is  only  the  nominal  hero  of  Paradise  Lost, 
the  real  one  being  Satan ;  and  it  is  certainly  true  that  the  neces- 
sarily inferior  nature  of  man,  as  compared  with  the  tremen- 
dous agencies  of  which  he  is  the  sport,  reduces  him,  apparently 
at  least,  to  a  secondary  part  in  the  drama;  but  this  difficulty  is 
surmounted  by  the  dignity  and  moral  elevation  which  Milton 
has  given  to  his  human  personages,  and  by  his  making  them 
the  central  pivot  round  which  revolves  the  whole  action. 

254.  The  companion-poem  to  the  great  Epic,  the  Odyssey  to 
the    Christian   Iliad,   is   the   Paradise  Regained.  {135}     It  is 
much  shorter  than  the  first  work,  and  consists  of  only  Four 
Books  or  Cantos.     The  subject  is  the  Temptation  of  Christ  by 
Satan  in  the  Wilderness ;    and  the  poet  has  closely  followed  the 
narrative  of  that  incident,  as  recorded  in  the  fourth  chapter  of 
St.  Matthew's  Gospel,     It  is,  however,  evident  that  the   only 
event  comparable  in  importance  to  the  Fall  of  Man  was  the 
Redemption    of   Man    through    the  voluntary    sacrifice    of    the 
Saviour;  but  the  poet,  for  reasons  that  cannot  now  be  ascer- 
tained, shrank  from  that  awful  subject.     The  universal  consent 
of  readers  places  the  Paradise  Regained,   in  point  of  interest 
and  variety,  very  far  below  the  Paradise  Lost.     This  inferiority 
is,  of  course,  attributable  to  its  want  of  action ;  the  whole  poem 
being  occupied  with  the  arguments  carried  on  between  Christ 
and  the  Tempter,  and  the  description  of  the  kingdoms  of  the 
earth  as  contemplated  from  the  summit  of  the  mountain.    But  in 
Paradise  Regained  the  genius  of  Milton   appears  in  its  ripest 
and  completest  development:  the  self-restraint  of  consummate 
art  is  everywhere  apparent;    and  in  the  descriptions  of  Rome 
and  Athens,  and  the  state  of  society  and  knowledge,  the  great 
poet  has  reached  a  height  of  solemn  grandeur  which  shows  him 
to  have  lost  nothing  either  of  imagination  or  of  learning ;  though, 
in  brilliancy  of  coloring  and  intensity  of  interest,  the  later  poem 
is  inferior.     It  may  be  said  that  the  beauties  of  Paradise  Re- 
gained\^\\\  generally  be  more  perceptible  as  the  reader  advances 
in  life,  and  to  those  minds  in  which  the  contemplative  faculty  is 
more  developed  than  the  imagination. 

255.  To  this,  the  closing  period  of  Milton's  literary  career, 
belongs  the  Tragedy  of  Samson  Agonistes,  (130)  constructed 
according  to  the  strictest  rules  of  the  Greek  classical  drama.    In 
the  character  of  the  hero,  his  blindness,  his  sufferings,  and  his 
resignation  to  the  will  of  God,  Milton  has  given  a  most  touch- 


A.  D.  1608-1674.  MILTON.  147 

ing  embodiment  of  himself.  The  whole  piece  breathes  the 
somewhat  harsh  but  lofty  patriotism  and  religion  of  the  Old 
Testament;  and  the  lyric-choruses  are  sometimes  inexpressibly 
sublime.  So  closely  has  Milton  copied  all  the  details,  literary 
as  well  as  mechanical,  of  the  ancient  dramas,  that  there  is  no 
exaggeration  in  saying  that  a  modern  reader  will  obtain  a  more 
exact  impression  of  what  a  Greek  tragedy  was,  from  the  study 
of  Samson  Agontstes,  than  from  the  most  faithful  translation  of 
Sophocles  or  Euripides. 


148  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  XV. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    AGE    OF   THE   RESTORATION. 

256.  THE  most  illustrious  literary  representative  of  the  Cav- 
aliers is  SAMUEL  BUTLER  (1612-1680),  who  indeed  resembles  the 
great  Puritan  poet  in  an  almost  universal  erudition,  and  in  the 
immense  quantity  of  thought  which  is  embodied  in  his  writings. 
He  was  born  of  respectable  but  not  wealthy  parentage  in  1612, 
and  began  his  education  at  Worcester  Free  School.  Lack  of 
means  seems  to  have  deprived  him  of  any  lengthened  oppor- 
tunity of  acquiring,  at  either  University,  any  portion  of  that 
immense  learning  which  his  works  prove  him  to  have  possessed. 
As  a  young  man  he  performed  the  office  of  clerk  to  Jeffries,  a 
country  Justice  of  the  Peace;  afterwards  —  most  likely  by  the 
protection  of  John  Selden  —  he  was  preferred  to  the  service  of 
the  Countess  of  Kent;  where  he  enjoyed  one  of  the  few  gleams 
of  sunshine  that  cheered  his  unhappy  lot.  Thence  he  passed 
into  the  employment — in  the  capacity  of  tutor  or  clerk  —  of 
Sir  Samuel  Luke,  a  powerful  county  magnate,  and  an  extreme 
Presbyterian  member  of  the  Long  Parliament,  in  whose  house 
Butler  accumulated  those  traits  of  bigotry  and  absurdity  which 
he  afterwards  interwove  into  his  great  satire  on  the  Puritans ; 
and  Luke  himself  was  undoubtedly  the  original  of  the  hero. 
His  great  work,  the  burlesque  satire  of  Hudibras,  (14:1}  was  pub- 
lished in  detached  portions  and  at  irregular  intervals ;  the  first 
part,  containing  the  first  three  cantos,  in  1663,  the  second  part 
in  the  following  year,  and  the  third  not  until  1678.  The  poem 
instantly  became  the  most  popular  book  of  the  age.  Charles  II. 
carried  about  Pludibras  in  his  pocket,  was  incessantly  quoting 
and  admiring  it;  and  Butler's  poem  became  the  rage  at  Court. 
Very  little  solid  recompense,  however,  accrued  to  Butler.  He 
was;  named  Secretary  to  Lord  Carbury,  and  in  that  capacity  held 
for  some  time  the  office  of  Steward  of  Ludlow  Castle ;  but  he 
soon  after  lost  this  place.  A  sort  of  fatality  combined  with  the 
usual  ingratitude  of  that  profligate  Court  to  leave  him  in  his 


A.  D.  1612-1680.        SAMUEL  BUTLER.  149 

former  poverty ;  and  the  great  wit  is  reported  to  have  died,  in 
extreme  poverty,  in  a  miserable  lodging  in  Rose  Street,  Cov- 
en t  Garden,  and  to  have  been  indebted  to  his  friend  Longue- 
ville  for  a  grave  in  the  neighboring  churchyard  of  St.  Paul's. 

257.  Butlers   principal   title  to  immortality  is  his  burlesque 
poem  of  Hudibras,  a  satire  upon  the  vices  and  absurdities  of 
the  two  dominant  sects  of  the  Presbyterians  and  Independents. 
Its  plan  is  perfectly  original,  though  the  leading  idea  may  be  in 
some  measure   referred  to  the  Don  Quixote  of  Cervantes ;  but 
Butler's  hero  differs  from  his  really  lovable  prototype  in  being 
a  combination  of  all  that  is  ugly,  cowardly,  pedantic,  selfish,  and 
hypocritical ;  and  is  on  the  very  verge  of  being  an  object,  not  of 
ridicule,  but  of  hatred  and  detestation.     The  poem  describes  the 
adventures  of  a  fantastic  Justice  of  the  Peace  called  Hudibras  — 
a  name  borrowed  from  Spenser  —  and  his  clerk  Ralph,  who  sally 
forth  to  put  a  stop  to  the  amusements  of  the  common  people, 
against  which  the  Rump  Parliament  had  in  reality  passed  many 
violent  and  oppressive  acts.     Not  only  were  the  theatres  sup- 
pressed, and   all  cheerful   amusements    proscribed    during  that 
gloomy  time,  but  the  rougher  pastimes  of  the  lower  classes, 
among  which  bear-baiting  was  one  of  the  most  favorite,  were 
prohibited  by  authority.     Sir  Hudibras,  a  caricature,  as  already 
remarked,  of  Sir  Samuel  Luke,  is  the  representative  of  the  Pres- 
byterian partv;  whilst  Ralph  is  the  satiric  portrait  of  the  more 
enthusiastic  Independent  sect.     Sallying  forth  to  stop  the  popu- 
lar amusements,  Sir  Hudibras  and  his  Squire  encounter  a  pro- 
cession of  ragamuffins  conducting  a  bear  to  the  place  of  combat. 
They  refuse  to  disperse  at  the  summons  of  the  knight;  when  a 
furious  mock-heroic  battle  ensues,  in  which,  after  varying  for- 
tunes, Hudibras  is  victorious,  and  succeeds  in  incarcerating  in 
the  parish  stocks  the  principal  delinquents.     Their  comrades  re- 
turn to  the  charge,  liberate  them,  and  place  in  durance  in  their 
stead  the  Knight  and  Squire ;  who  are  in  their  turn  liberated  by 
a  rich  widow,  to  whom   Sir  Hudibras,   purely  from  interested 
motives,  is  paying  his  court.     Hudibras   afterwards  visits  the 
lady,  and  receives  a  sound  beating  from  her  servants  disguised 
as  devils  ;  and  he  afterwards  consults  a  lawyer  and  an  astrologer 
to  obtain  revenge  and  satisfaction.     Here,  like  its  own  story  of 
the  Bear  and  Fiddle,  it  breaks  off  in  the  middle,  and  was  never 
completed. 

258.  But  the  pleasure  given  by  Httdibras  is  quite  independent 


150  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  XV. 

of  the  gratification  of  that  kind  of  curiosity  which  finds  its  ali- 
ment in  a  well-developed  intrigue.  Astonishing  fertility  of  in- 
vention, analysis  of  character,  the  vivid  and  animated  painting 
of  the  incidents,  and,  above  all,  the  immeasurable  flood  of  witty 
and  unexpected  illustration  which  is  poured  forth  throughout 
the  whole  poem  —  these  are  the  qualities  which  have  made  But- 
ler one  of  the  great  classics  of  the  English  language.  Wit  is 
the  power  of  tracing  unexpected  analogies,  whether  of  difference 
or  resemblance  :  the  faculty  of  bringing  together  ideas,  appar- 
ently incongruous,  but  between  which,  when  so  brought  together, 
even  the  ordinary  mind  a't  once  perceives  the  relation ;  and  this 
perception,  suddenly  excited,  is  accompanied  by  a  flash  of  pleas- 
ure and  surprise.  This  power  no  author  ever  possessed  in  so 
high  a  degree  as  Butler;  his  learning  was  portentous  in  its  ex- 
tent and  variety;  and  he  appears  to  have  accumulated  his  vast 
stores,  not  only  in  the  beaten  tracks,  but  in  the  most  obscure 
corners  and  out-of-the-way  regions  of  books  and  sciences.  The 
effect  of  the  whole  is  augmented  by  the  easy,  rattling,  conversa- 
tional tone  of  his  language,  in  which  the  most  colloquial,  famil- 
iar, and  even  vulgar  expressions  are  found  side  by  side  with  the 
pedantic  terms  of  art  and  learning.  The  metre,  too,  is  sin- 
gularly happy ;  the  short  octosyllable  verse  carries  us  on  with 
unabating  rapidity ;  and  the  perpetual  recurrence  of  odd  and  fan- 
tastic rhymes  produces  a  series  of  pleasant  shocks  that  awaken 
and  satisfy  the  attention. 

259.  Butler's  miscellaneous  writings  were  published  after  his 
death ;  among  which  the  most  interesting  are  sketches  in  prose 
of  a  series  of  characters  somewhat  in  the  manner  of  Feltham. 
They  are  marked  by  that  extreme  pregnancy  of  wit  and  allusion 
which  is  so  characteristic  of  his  genius.  The  poems  are  in 
many  instances  bitter  ridicule  o£  the  puerile  pursuits  which  he 
attributes  to  the  physical  investigations  of  that  day ;  and  he  is 
particularly  severe  upon  the  then  recently-founded  Royal  So- 
ciety, which  he  ridicules  in  his  Elephant  in  the  Moon. 

2GO.  JOHN  DRYDEN  (1631-1700),  the  greatest  name  in  thfc 
latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  was  born  of  an  ancient 
county  family  in  1631 ;  and  was  solidly  educated,  first  under  the 
famous  Busby  at  Westminster  School,  and  afterwards  at  Trinity 
College,  Cambridge.  Sprung  from  a  Puritan  family,  he  nat- 
urally, on  his  entrance  into  life,  attached  himself  to  his  kinsman 
Sir  Gilbert  Pickering,  then  in  high  favor  with  the  Lord  Protector ; 


A.  I).  1631-1700.  DRYDEN.  151 

and  Dryden's  earliest  considerable  effort  was  an  elegy  upon 
England's  greatest  ruler.  (14:2-152)  At  the  Restoration  he 
abandoned  his  Puritanism,  and  sang  the  praises  of  the  worthless 
Charles  with  as  much  zeal  as  he  ever  had  that  of  his  heroic 
predecessor.  The  whole  life  of  Dryden  is  filled  with  vigorous 
and  unremitting  literary  labor,  and  presents  but  few  events  un- 
connected with  the  composition  of  his  successive  works.  The- 
atrical pieces  were  then  the  best-rewarded  form  of  intellectual 
labor;  and,  therefore,  though  conscious  of  his  own  deficiency 
in  dramatic  genius,  Dryden  principally  devoted  himself  to  the 
stage,  making  a  legal  engagement  with  the  King's  Company  of 
players  to  supply  them  regularly  with  three  dramas  every  year. 
His  dramatic  works  constitute  a  very  large  portion  of  his  entire 
compositions ;  and  both  in  their  merits  and  their  faults  they  are 
at  once  strikingly  characteristic  of  the  peculiar  genius  of  their 
author,  and  of  the  state  of  taste  at  the  period  when  they  were 
written.  His  dramatic  career  began  about  the  year  1662,  with 
the  Wild  Gallant,  the  Rival  Ladies,  the  Indian  Emperor,  and 
many  other  pieces  —  tragic,  comic,  and  romantic. 

201.  In  1663  the  poet  married  Lady  Elizabeth  Howard,  daugh- 
ter pf  the  Earl  of  Berkshire,  a  union  which  is  not  supposed  to 
have  much  contributed  to  his  happiness.  In  1667  he  produced 
his  first  great  narrative  poem,  the  Annus  Mirabilis,  (14:2)  in- 
tended to  commemorate  the  great  events  of  the  preceding  year, 
the  terrible  Fire  of  London  and  the  War  with  the  Dutch ;  which 
work  gave  abundant  proof  of  the  vigor,  majesty,  and  force  of 
his  style.  At  this  time  he  wrote  his  Essay  on  Dramatic  Poetry, 
in  which  he  formally  maintains  the  superiority  of  rhyme  in 
theatrical  dialogues ;  a  theory  which  for  a  time  he  exemplified 
in  practice  by  composing  many  pieces,  as  Tyrannic  Love,  in 
rhyme ;  though  he  afterwards  saw  reason  to  return  to  the  far 
finer  and  more  national  system  of  blank  verse.  In  1670  he  suc- 
ceeded Davenant  as  Poet  Laureate  and  Historiographer  to  the 
King,  and  for  some  time  enjoyed  the  salary  of  two  hundred 
pounds  attached  to  the  office. 

262.  During  the  whole  of  his  life,  Dryden  was  engaged  in 
literary  and  political  squabbles,  sometimes  with  envious  rivals, 
as  with  Settle  —  a  bad  poet,  whom  the  public  and  patrons  some- 
times preferred  to  him;  sometimes  with  more  powerful  and  dan- 
gerous adversaries,. as  with  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  who  with 
the  assistance  of  at  least  one  man  of  genius,  Butler,,  caricatured 


152  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  XV. 


him  on  the  stage  in  the  famous  burlesque  of  the  Rehearsal.  In 
1679  the  Earl  of  Rochester,  imputing  to  Dryden  the  Essay  on 
Satire  —  the  authorship  of  which  is  still  undecided  —  caused 
the  poet  to  be  waylaid  by  night  and  severely  beaten  by  a  num- 
ber of  bravoes,  such  as  were  often  in  the  pay  of  the  great  men 
in  those  times. 

263.  In  1681  appeared  the  first  part  of  one  of  Dryden's  noblest 
and  most  original  works,  the  political  satire  of  Absalom  and 
Achitophel,  (14:4:,  14:5}  in  which,  under  a  transparent  disguise 
of  Hebrew  names  and  allusions,  he  attacks  the  factious  policy 
of  the  Ex-Chancellor  Shaftesbury,  and  his  intrigues  with  the 
Duke  of  Monmouth  on  the  subject  of  the  succession  of  the  Duke 
of  York.  The  second  part  of  this  poem  was  published  one  year 
after,  but  was  principally  written  by  Tate,  Dryden  having  con- 
tributed only  two  hundred  lines.  To  the  same  period  belongs 
also  the  Medal,  directed  against  the  same  bold  and  unscrupulous 
politician.  The  purely  literary  satire,  Mac-Flecknoe,  in  which 
Dryden  takes  a  terrible  revenge  upon  his  rival  Shadwell,  be- 
longs to  the  year  1682.  Dryden's  fertility  was  almost  inexhaust- 
ible. In  1682  he  produced  the  Religio  Laid,  (147)  an  eloquent 
and  vigorous  defence  of  the  Anglican  Church  against  the  Dis- 
senters, and  one  of  the  finest  controversial  poems  in  any  lan- 
guage. In  1686  he  embraced  the  Catholic  doctrines,  which 
change  most  suspiciously  coincides  with  the  efforts  made  by  the 
King,  James  II.,  to  convert  every  one  to  the  faith  of  which  he 
was  himself  a  professor.  But,  whether  sincere  or  not,  he  pro- 
duced in  defence  of  his  new  faith  a  poem  called  The  Hind  and 
Panther,  which  in  spite  of  the  fundamental  absurdity  of  its 
plan  exhibits  in  a  high  degree  his  unequalled  power  of  combin- 
ing vigorous  reasoning  with  sonorous  verse  and  rich  illustration. 
It  was  published  in  1687.  ^n  ^ne  following  year  the  Revolution 
deprived  Dryden  of  not  only  Court  favor,  but  of  his  valuable 
official  appointments;  but  this  event  was  incapable  of  arresting 
the  activity  or  chilling  the  fire  of  the  great  poet.  He  continued 
to  write  dramatic  pieces  until  1693 ;  and  during  this  period  gave 
to  the  world  his  excellent  translation  of  Juvenal  and  Persius. 
His  translation  of  Virgil  appeared  in  1697,  and  seems  to  have 
been  one  of  his  most  profitable  literary  ventures ;  it  has  been 
said  that  he  gained  twelve  hundred  pounds  by  this  publication. 
At  the  same  time  he  composed  his  Alexander's  Feast,  one  of  the 
noblest  lyrics  in  the  English  language.  (Jf#0)  Old  age  and 


A.  D.  1631-1700.  DRYDEN.  153 

broken  health  seem  not  to  have  been  able  to  interrupt  his  career  : 
for  in  1700  he  produced  his  Fables,  a  collection  of  tales  either 
borrowed  and  modernized  from  Chaucer  or  versified  from  Boc- 
cacio,  in  which  his  invention,  fire,  and  harmony  appear  in  their 
very  highest  power.  In  this  year  he  died  of  a  mortification  in 
the  leg,  combined  with  dropsy,  and  was  buried  in  Westminster 
Abbey,  followed  to  the  grave  by  the  admiration  of  his  country- 
men, who  saw  that  in  him  they  had  lost  incomparably  the 
greatest  poet  of  the  age. 

264.  In  the  drama,  Dryden  is  the  chief  representative  of  that 
great  revolution  in  taste  which  followed  the  Restoration,  when 
the  sweet  and  powerful  style  of  the  romantic  drama  of  the  Eliz- 
abethan type  was  supplanted  by  an  imitation  of  French  models. 
The  comic  pieces  of  Dryden  are  marked  by  all  the  profound 
immorality  which  corrupted  fashionable  society  at  that  period ; 
and  at  the  same  time  his  deficiency  in  humor  renders  his  pieces 
dull    in    spite    of   their   extravagance,    giving   the    reader    no 
pleasantry  to  compensate  for  their  grossness.    Dryden,  in  yield- 
ing to  this  detestable  tendency,  merely  followed  the  prevailing 
fashion ;  and  showed,  by  the  submission  with  which  he  received 
Jeremy  Collier's  well-merited  rebuke  on  the  indecency  and  irre- 
ligion  of  his  plays,  that  he  had  the  grace  to  be  ashamed  of  faults 
which  he  had  not  the  virtue  to  avoid. 

265.  The  tragedy  of  this  period  forms  a  most  amusing  con- 
trast to  the  corned}',  affecting  a  tone  of  romantic  enthusiasm  and 
superhuman  elevation  far  removed  from  nature  and  common 
sense.     The  heroes  are  supernaturally  brave;    self-sacrifice   is 
pushed  to  the  verge  of  caricature;  and  all  the  ordinary  feelings 
of  nature  are  violated  to  attain  a  sort  of  impossible  ideal  of  he- 
roic and  amorous  perfection.     In  the  Rival  Ladies,  the  Indian 
Emferor,  Tyrannic  Love,  Aurengzebe,  All  for  Love,  Clcomencs, 
Don   Sebastian,  and   similar  pieces,  we  see  Dryden's  dramatic 
genius  as  we  see  the  dramatic  spirit  of  the  age,  in  its  power  and 
in  its  weakness.    Dryden  had  very  little  mastery  over  the  tender 
emotions,  and  very   ';ttle  skill  in  the  delineation  of  character; 
and  he  tried  to  compensate  for  these  deficiencies  by  striking  and 
picturesque  incidents,  by  powerful  declamatory  dialogue,  and  by 
majesty,  ease,  and  splendor  of  versification.     Nor  in  his  eager- 
ness to  gratify  tne  vulgar  taste  of  the  day  did  Dryden  spare  the 
most  venerated  names.    In  Troilus  and  Cressida,  and  The  Tem- 
pest, he  debased  to  the  level  of  the  gross  appetites  of  his  audi- 


154  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  XV. 

ence  the  grand  and  pure  creations  of  Shakspeare ;  and  he  did 
not  scruple  to  transform  the  Paradise  Lost  into  an  operatic  en- 
tertainment, styled  the  State  of  Innocence.  His  Prologues  and 
Epilogues,  however,  are  in  general  masterpieces  both  in  the 
comic  and  the  elevated  style ;  though  in  many  of  the  comic  pro- 
ductions of  this  nature  he  unfortunately  panders  to  the  prevail- 
ing taste  for  loose  allusion  and  equivoque. 

2G6.  Even  in  his  Heroic  Stanzas  in  praise  of  Cromwell  it  is 
easy  to  perceive  that  force,  vigor,  and  majestic  melody  of  style 
which  distinguish  him  above  all  the  writers  of  his  age,  above  all 
the  writers  of  any  age  perhaps,  in  the  English  literature.  The 
heroic  couplet  was  his  favorite  metre ;  and  he  wielded  it  with 
singular  force  and  mastery;  whether  he  reasons,  or  describes, 
or  declaims,  or  narrates,  he  moves  with  perfect  freedom ;  and 
the  regularity  of  the  structure  of  his  verse,  and  the  recurrence 
of  the  rhyme,  so  far  from  appearing  to  shackle  his  movements, 
seem  only  to  give  majesty  and  impetus  to  his  march.  Perhaps 
the  greatest  among  his  longer  poems  are  those  in  which  the  sub- 
ject is  half  polemic  and  half  satirical.  The  Absalom  and  Achit- 
ophel(14:4:,  145}  contains  a  multitude  of  admirably-drawn  por- 
traits, among  which  those  of  Shaftesbury,  the  Duke  of  Bucking- 
ham, Settle,  Shadwell,  and  the  infamous  Titus  Gates,  remain  in 
the  memory  of  every  reader.  Though  a  minute  knowledge  of 
the  history  of  the  time  is  necessary  to  the  full  appreciation  of  this 
powerful  poem,  yet  even  the  general  student  will  find  in  it  the 
noblest  examples  of  moral  painting,  always  vigorous  though  not 
always  just,  and  will  perceive  all  the  highest  qualities  of  the 
English  language  as  a  vehicle  for  reasoning  and  description. 

2G7.  He  has  also  given  us,  in  Mac-Flecknoc,  the  first  example 
of  purely  literary  and  personal  satire.  Its  object  was  his  rival 
Shadwell,  whom  tli&  poet  supposes  £o  be  the  successor  in  the 
supremacy  of  stupidity  to  an  Irish  scribbler  named  Flecknoe, 
giving  him  for  this  purpose  the  title  of  Mac,  the  Irish  form  of 
the  patronymic. 

208.  The  two  great  controversial  poems,  Religio  Laid  (147) 
atid  the  Hind  and  Panther,  exhibit  in  its  highest  perfection 
Dryden's  consummate  mastery  in  perhaps  the  most  difficult  spe- 
cies of  writing,  namely,  poetry  in  which  close  reasoning  on  an 
abstract  subject  like  theology  should  be  combined  with  rich  illus- 
tration and  picturesque  imagery.  In  the  latter  work  we  very 
soon  get  over  the  absurdity  of  the  fable,  in  which  the  two  ani- 


A.  D.  1631-1700.  DRYDEN.  155 

mals  that  give  the  title  to  the  poem  are  represented  as  engaging 
in  an  elaborate  argument  in  favor  of  the  two  churches  whose 
•emblems  they  are —  the  ;'  milk-white  Hind  "  typifying  the  Cath- 
olic, and  the  Panther  the  Anglican  Church  —  as  well  as  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  other  sects  under  the  guise  of  wolves,  bears,  and 
a  whole  menagerie  of  animals. 

209.  The  lyric  productions  of  this  poet  are  not  numerous  in 
proportion  to  their  excellence.  Interspersed  among  the  scenes 
of  his  romantic  dramas  are  many  beautiful  and  harmonious 
songs;  but  his  most  celebrated  production  of  this  kind  is  his 
Alexander's  Feast,  (_Z50)  written  for  music,  and  celebrating  the 
powers  and  the  triumph  of  the  art.  This  poem  he  is  said  to  have 
written  at  a  single  jet,  and  in  the  space  of  a  few  hours.  It  will 
always  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  energetic  lyrics  in  the 
English  language. 

270.  In  translation,  Dryden's  chief  merit  consists  in  the  power 
of  transferring  to  his  own  language,  not  perhaps  the  exact  sense 
of  his  originals,  but  their  general  spirit.     There  was  a  consid- 
erable similarity  between  the  tone  of  Dryden's  mind  and  that  of 
Juvenal —  the  same  force,  the  same  somewhat  declamatory  char- 
acter, and  the  same  unscrupulous  boldness  in  painting  what  was 
odious  and  detestable.    Though  his  version  of  Virgil  will  always 
be  regarded  as  one  of  the  great  standard  monuments  of  our  lit- 
erature, it  may  be  regretted  that  the  author  he  selected  was  not 
one  more  accordant  with  his  peculiar  genius ;  for  Dryden  was 
certainly  deficient  in  the  grace  and  elegance  characteristic  of 
Virgil.     Two  of  our  most  illustrious  poets,  Dryden  and  Pope, 
have  respectively  translated  Virgil  and  Homer  :  their  glory  would 
have  been  greater  had  they  exchanged  subjects. 

271.  The  highest  qualities  of  Dryden's  literary  genius  never 
blazed  out  with  greater  splendor  than  in  his  last  publication,  the 
Fables,  (14:9)  of  which  we  have  already  spoken.     The  flowing 
ease  of  the  composition,  the  frequent  occurrence  of  beautiful 
lines  and  happy  expressions,  will  ever  make  them  the  most  favor- 
able specimens  perhaps  of  Dryden's  peculiar  merits. 

272.  The  form  of  Dryden's  prose  works  was  generally  that  of 
Essays  or  Prefaces  prefixed  to  his  various  poems,  and  discussing 
some  subject  in  connection  with  the  particular  matter  in  hand. 
Thus  in  his  Essay  on  Dramatic  Poetry  he  investigates  the  then 
hotly-argued  question  as  to  the  employment  of  Rhyme  in  Trage- 
dy ;  his  Juvenal  was  accompanied  with  a  most  amusing  treatise 


156  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  XV. 

on  Satire;  in  fact  few  of  his  poetical  works  appeared  without 
some  prose  disquisition.  Indeed  Dryden  must  be  regarded  as 
the  first  enlightened  critic  who  appeared  in  the  English  lan- 
guage. (151,  152}  His  judgments  concerning  Chaucer,  Shak- 
speare  and  his  mighty  contemporaries,  Milton  and  a  multitude  of 
other  authors,  do  equal  honor  to  the  catholicity  of  his  taste  and 
his  courage.  These  works,  besides,  are  admirable  specimens  of 
lively,  vigorous,  idiomatic  English,  of  which  no  man,  when  he 
chose  to  avoid  the  occasional  pedantic  employment  of  fashion- 
able French  words,  was  a  greater  master. 

273.  Associated  with  Milton,  in  both  a  political  and  literary 
relation,  was  the  excellent  ANDREW  MARVEL  (1620-1678).     For 
a  time  he  assisted  the  great  poet  in  discharging  the  duties  of 
Latin  Secretary;  and  the  only  copy  of  English  verses  prefixed  to 
"  Paradise  Lost"  came  from  his  pen.    He  represented  his  native 
town  of  Hull  in  Parliament  from  the  year  1660  until  his  death; 
and  many  stories,  apparently  authentic,  are  told  of  his  incor- 
ruptible integrity  and  resolute  attitude  towards  both  the  caresses 
and  menaces  of  the  Ministers  of  the  day.     His  rough,  vigorous, 
masculine  satire  did  excellent  service  to  the  popular  cause  in  the 
dark  period  that  followed  the  Restoration  —  in  this  he  hesitated 
not  to  assail  Royalty  itself;  his  poem  on  the  death  of  the  Lord 
Protector  will  not  lose  by  a  comparison  with  the  effusions  of  his 
more  distinguished  contemporaries  on  the  same  subject — it  is, 
at  least,  a  genuine  outspoken  utterance  from  the  heart,  which 
can  hardly  be  said  of  any  of  the  others  —  and  many  of  his  minor 
works  are  marked  by  a  simple  grace  and  unaffected  elegance, 
which  the  bluntness  of  his  more  ambitious  compositions  would 
hardly  lead  us  to  expect.      His  Lamentation  of  a  Nymph   on  the 
Death  of  her  Fa-wn,  (14:0*)  his  Song  of  the  Emigrants  to  Ber- 
muda, his  Thoughts  hi  a  Garden,  are  excellent  specimens  of  this 
happier  manner.     Few  men  have  left  behind  them  a  more  stain- 
less name  than  Marvel. 

274.  Next  to  Bacon,  incomparably  the  greatest  name  in  philos- 
ophy of  the  seventeenth  century  is  that  of  THOMAS  HOBBES,  the 
"philosopher  of  Malmesbury"  (1588-1679).     His  theories  exer- 
cised a  notable  influence  on  the  opinions,  not  only  of  English, 
but  also  of  Continental  thinkers  for  nearly  a  century;  and  many 
cf  the  principles  affirmed  by  him  still  remain  unshaken.     His 
earliest  literary  work,  a  translation  of  Thucydides,  was  published 
in  1628;  and  almost  his  latest  was  an  English  version  of  the 


A.  D.  1588-1688.    HOBBES.    JOHN  BUSY  AN.  157 

"Iliad"  and  "  Odyssey,"  which  appeared  in  1675,  but  is  gener- 
ally represented  as  being  almost  beneath  criticism.  He  did  not 
produce  his  first  original  work,  the  De  Give,  until  1642,  which 
was  followed  by  the  Human  Nature  (6*9)  and  De  Cot-pore 
Politico  in  1650.  The  Leviathan,  his  most  elaborate  and  most 
celebrated  composition,  was  published  in  1651.  A  few  months 
before  his  death  he  finished  his  Behemoth,  an  account  of  the  late 
civil  wars,  which  embraces  the  period  between  1640  and  1660. 
The  style  of  Hobbes  is  perhaps  the  most  perspicuous  ever  em- 
ployed by  any  author:  clear,  nervous,  forcible,  it  conveys  the 
exact  meaning  and  produces  the  exact  impression  intended  with 
greater  success  than  had  been  attained  by  any  English  writer 
who  has  treated  subjects  of  equal  depth.  Both  in  his  metaphys- 
ical and  political  speculations  this  writer  has  encountered  much 
hostile  criticism.  In  the  first  he  is  charged  with  advocating 
Atheism ;  and  he  is  certainly  open  to  the  accusation  of  having 
degraded  the  spiritual  nature  of  man  by  representing  self-in- 
terest as  the  prime  impelling  motive  of  all  his  actions.  In  the 
second  he  seems  distinctly  to  advocate  pure  despotism  as  the 
only  form  of  authority  possessing  a  philosophical  basis,  his 
theory  being  that  human  nature  is  essentially  ferocious,  and  re- 
quires the  iron  restraint  of  arbitrary  power  to  control  its  un- 
bridled passions.  In  the  eyes  of  the  orthodox,  Hobbism  has 
become  a  term  expressive  of  all  that  is  obnoxious  in  morals  and 
politics. 

275.  The  most  energetic  assailant  of  Hobbes's  conclusions  in 
Philosophy  was  DR.  RALPH  CUDWORTH  (1617-1688),  Regius 
Professor  of  Divinity  at  Cambridge,  a  writer  of  extraordinary 
vigor,  and  a  polemic  of  almost  incredible  candor.  So  fairly  did 
he  put  the  arguments  of  the  Atheists,  that  he  brought  down  on 
himself — most  unjustly  indeed  —  the  imputation  of  Atheism. 
His  great  work  is  the  True  Intellectual  System  of  the  Universe. 
He  was  the  contemporary  at  the  University  of  the  celebrated 
HEXRY  MOORE  (1614-1687),  known  as  the  Platonist,  whose 
principal  works  are  The  Mystery  of  Godliness.  The  Mystery  of 
Iniqiiity,  and  Philosophical  Poems.  He  is  a  writer  of  great 
power,  but  a  mystic. 

27G.  Literature  presents  no  more  original  personality  than 
that  of  JOHN  BUNYAX  (1628-1688),  the  greatest  master  of  allegory 
that  ever  has  existed.  He  was  born  at  the  village  of  Elstow, 
near  Bedford,  in  1628.  His  father  was  a  tinker,  and  the  son  in 


158  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  XV. 

his  youth  followed  the  same  humble  calling;  but  at  about  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  entered  the  military  service  in  the  Parliamen- 
tary army.  In  the  strange  and  interesting  religious  autobiog- 
raphy which  he  wrote  under  the  title  of  Grace  Abounding  in 
the  Chief  of  Sinners,  Bunyan  has  given  a  curious  picture  of"  his 
internal  struggles,  his  despair,  his  conversion,  and  his  ac- 
ceptance by  God;  and  the  whole  range  of  mystical  literature 
does  not  offer  a  more  touching  confession.  But  it  is  certain  that 
the  irregularities  he  so  deeply  deplores  were  venial,  if  not  alto- 
gether trifling,  and  that  his  conduct  had  always  in  the  main 
been  virtuous  and  moral.  After  experiencing  the  fearful  internal 
struggles  usual  when  strongly  imaginative  minds  'are  .first 
brought  under  religious  conviction,  he  joined,  in  1655,  the  sect 
of  the  Baptists,  and  he  gradually  attracted  notoriety  by  the 
fervor  of  his  piety  and  the  rude  eloquence  of  his  discourses.  At 
the  Restoration,  after  undergoing  some  minor  persecutions,  he 
was  convicted  of  frequenting  and  holding  conventicles,  and  im- 
prisoned for  upwards  of  twelve  years  in  the  gaol  of  Bedford, 
where  he  supported  himself  by  making  tagged  laces.  It  was 
during  this  confinement  that  he  composed  his  immortal  allegory 
the  Pilgrim'1  s  Progress.  {155}  On  the  proclamation  of  Charles's 
second  Declaration  of  Indulgence,  Bunyan  was  at  last  liberated; 
and  in  1672  he  had  become  a  venerated  and  influential  leader  in 
his  sect,  preaching  frequently  both  in  Bedford  and  London. 
His  sufferings,  his  virtues,  his  genius  as  a  writer,  and  his  elo- 
quence as  a  pastor,  contributed  to  his  fame.  He  died  in  1688,  in 
London,  it  is  said  in  consequence  of  a  cold  caught  in  a  journey 
undertaken  by  him  in  inclement  weather  with  the  object  of  re- 
conciling a  father  and  a  son.  His  character  appears  to  have 
been  essentially  mild,  affectionate,  and  animated  by  a  truly 
evangelical  love  to  all  men. 

277.  The  works  of  Bunyan  are  numerous ;  but  there  are  only 
three  among  them  upon  which  it  will  be  necessary  for  us  to 
dwell.     These  are  the  religious  autobiography  entitled  Grace 
Abounding  in  the  Chief  of  Sinners,  already  referred  to;   and  the 
two  religious  allegories,  the  Pilgrim's  Progress  and  the  Holy 

War. 

278.  The  Pilgrim's  Progress,  which  is  in  two  parts,  the  first 
beyond  comparison  the  finer,   narrates  the  struggles,   the  ex- 
periences, and  the  trials  of  a  Christian  in  his  passage  from  a  life 
of  sin  to  everlasting  felicity.     "  Mr.  Christian,"  dwelling  in  a 


A.  D.  1628-1680.  JOHNLUNTAN.  159 

city,  is  incited  by  the  consciousness  of  his  lost  state,  typified  by 
a  heavy  burden,  to  take  a  journey  to  the  New  Jerusalem  —  the 
city  of  eternal  life.  All  the  adventures  of  his  travel,  the  scenes 
which  he  visits,  the  dangers  which  he  encounters,  the  enemies 
he  combats,  the  friends  and  fellow-pilgrims  he  meets  upon  his 
road,  typify,  with  a  strange  mixture  of  literal  simplicity  and 
powerful  imagination,  the  vicissitudes  of  religious  experience. 
Shakspeare  is  not  more  essentially  the  prince  of  dramatists  than 
Bunyan  is  the  prince  of  allegorists.  So  intense  was  his  intel- 
lectual vision,  that  abstract  qualities  are  instantly  clothed  by  him 
with  personality,  and  we  sympathize  with  his  shadowy  person- 
ages as  with  real  human  beings  —  a  result  which  is  indeed  in 
some  degree  to  be  ascribed  to  the  simple,  direct,  unadorned  style 
in  which  Bunyan  wrote.  Moreover,  a  great  many  scenes  and 
characters  in  Bunyan's  books  are  evidently  drawn  from  real  life. 
The  description  of  Vanity  Fair,  many  of  the  landscapes  so  beau- 
tifully and  vividly  painted,  and  a  large  number  of  the  person- 
ages and  dialogues,  bear  all  the  marks  of  being  transcripts  from 
Bunyan's  actual  experience;  and  we  may  accept,  for  example, 
the  lifelike  scene  of  the  accusation  before  the  court  of  justice  as  a 
faithful  picture  of  the  incredible  brutality  and  corruption  of  the 
tribunals  of  those  evil  days.  Bunyan's  knowledge  of  books  was 
very  small ;  but  the  English  version  of  the  Bible  had  been  studied 
by  him  so  intensely  that  he  was  completely  saturated  with  its 
spirit. 

279.  The  Holy  War  is  an  allegory  typifying,  in  the  siege  and 
capture  of  the  City  of  Mansoul,  the  struggle  between  sin  and 
religion  in  the  human   spirit.     Diabolus  on  the  one  hand,  and 
Immanuel  on  the  other,  are  the  leaders  of  the  opposing  armies. 
The  narrative,  viewed  as  a  tale,  is  far  less  interesting  than  the 
Pilgrim  s  Progress,  our  sympathies  not   being  excited  by  the 
dangers  and  escapes  of  a  single  hero;  and  in  many  points  the 
allegory  is  too  refined  and  complicated  to  be  always  readily  fol- 
lowed.    The  style,  though  similar  in  its  masculine  vigor  to  that 
of  the  former  allegory,  is  less  fresh  and  animated. 

280.  One  of  the  most  prominent  figures  in  the  Long  Parlia- 
ment  and   the    Restoration    was    EDWARD   HYDE,    afterwards 
Chancellor,  better  known  by  his  title  of  EARL  OF  CLARENDON 
(1608-1674).     Descended  from  a  gentle  stock,  and  educated  at 
Oxford,  he  soon  abandoned  the  profession  of  a  barrister  for  the 
more  exciting  struggles  of  political  life.     He  sat  in  the  Short 


160  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  XV. 

Parliament  of  1640;  and  was  also  a  conspicuous  orator  in  the 
Long  Parliament,  at  first  supporting  Opposition  principles  ;  bul 
after  a  violent  quarrel  with  the  more  advanced  adherents  of  the 
national  cause,  he  gradually  passed  over  to  the  Royalist  side; 
and  on  the  breaking  out  of  civil  war  he  fled  from  London,  and 
joined  the  King  at  York.  From  this  time  Clarendon  must  be 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  faithful,  though  certainly  one  of  the 
most  moderate,  adherents  of  the  Royalist  cause.  In  1644  he  was 
appointed  member  of  the  Council  named  to  advise  and  take 
charge  of  the  Prince,  whom  he  accompanied  to  Jersey,  and 
whose  exile  and  vicissitudes  he  shared  from  the  execution  of 
Charles  I.  to  the  Restoration  in  1660.  During  this  time  Hyde 
had  frequently,  like  many  of  his  companions,  and  like  the  King 
himself  while  wandering  in  France  and  Holland,  to  support  ex- 
treme poverty  and  privation.  But  the  Restoration  took  place ; 
and  Hyde  reaped  the  reward  of  his  services.  He  was  made 
Chancellor,  created  first  a  Baron,  and  afterwards,  in  1661,  Earl  of 
Clarendon,  and  for  some  time  was  among  the  most  powerful  ad- 
visers of  the  Court.  His  popularity,  however,  as  well  as  his 
favor  with  the  King,  soon  began  to  decline ;  for  both  his  virtues 
and  his  faults  were  such  as  to  render  him  disliked.  The  first 
made  him  offensive  to  the  King  and  his  licentious  Court,  the 
second  to  the  people.  The  marriage  of  his  daughter  Anne  to 
the  Duke  of  York,  by  which  he  became  the  progenitor  of  two 
queens  of  England,  Mary  and  Anne,  augmented  the  general 
odium.  He  was  impeached  for  high  treason  in  1667 ;  went  into 
exile,  and  passed  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  France,  where  he 
died,  at  Rouen,  in  1674. 

281.    Clarendon's   great  work  is  the  History  of  the  Great  Re- 
bellion, (j?56*,  157}  as  he  naturally,  in  his  quality  of  a  Royalist, 
designated  the  Civil  War;    to  which  he  afterwards  added  his 
Life  and  Continuation  of  this  History.     This  review  of  events 
embraces  a  detailed  account,  rather  in  the  form  of  Memoirs  than 
regular  history,  of  the  proceedings  from  1625  to  1633,  together 
with  a  narrative  of  the  incidents  which  led  to  the  Restoratior 
As  the  materials  were  derived  from  the  author's  personal 
rience,  the  work  is  of  high  value,  and  places  Clarendon  amoi 
the  leading  historical  writers  of  his  age ;  while  the  dignity  ai 
liveliness  of  the  style,  in  spite  of  occasional  obscurity,  will  ev( 
rank  him  among  the  great  classical  English  prose-writers.     Ii 
partial  he  cannot  be  expected  to  be ;  but  his  partiality  is  h 


A.  D.  1593-1683.        I ZAAK  WALTON.  161 

/ 

frequent  and  less  flagrant  than  could  fairly  have  been  antici- 
pated. Above  all,  he  is  excellent  in  the  delineation  of  charac- 
ter. These  are  the  parts  >f  his  work  most  carefully  elaborated, 
and  in  them  we  often  find  penetration  in  judging,  and  skill  in 
portraying  varieties  of  human  nature. 

282.  IZAAK  WALTON  (1593-1683)  was  born  in   Stafford,   and 
passed  his  early  manhood  in  London,  where  he  carried  on  the 
humble  business  of  a   "sempster"  or  linendraper.     At   about 
fifty  he  was  able  to  retire  from  trade,  probably  with  such  a  com- 
petency as  was  sufficient  for  his  modest  desires ;  and  lived  to  the 
great  age  of  ninety  in  ease  and  tranquillity,  enjoying  the  friend- 
ship of  many  of  the  most  learned  and  accomplished  men  of  his 
time,  and  amusing  himself  with  literature  and  his  beloved  pas-» 
time  of  the  angle.     He  produced  at  different  times  the  Lives  of 
five  persons,  all  distinguished  for  their  virtues  and  accomplish- 
ments—  namely,  Donne,  Wotton,  Hooker,  Herbert,  and  Bishop 
Sanderson,  with  the  first,  second,  and  last  of  whom  he  had  been 
intimate.     These  biographies  are  unlike  anything  else  in  litera- 
ture ;  they  are  written  with  such  a  tender  and  simple  grace,  with 
such  an  unaffected  fervor  of  personal  attachment  and  simple  piety, 
that  they  will  ever  be  regarded  as  masterpieces.     But  Walton's 
great  work  is  the   Complete  Angler,  (158}  a  treatise  on  his 
favorite  art  of  fishing,  in  which  the  precepts  for  the  sport  are 
combined  with   such   inimitable  descriptions  of  English  river- 
scenery,  such  charming  dialogues,  and  so  prevailing  a  tone  of 
gratitude  for  God's  goodness,  that  the  book  is  absolutely  unique 
in  literature.     The  treatise,  with  a  quaint  gravity  that  adds  to 
its  charm,   is  thrown  into  a  series  of  dialogues,  first  between 
Piscator,  Venator,  and  Auceps,  each  of  whom  in  turn  proclaims 
the  superiority  of  his  favorite  sport,   and  afterwards  between 
Piscator  and  Venator,  the  latter  of  whom  is  converted  by  the 
angler,  and  becomes  his  disciple.     No  other  literature  possesses 
a  book  similar  to  the  Complete  Angler,  the  popularity  of  which 
seems  likely  to  last  as  long  as  the  language.    A  second  pert  was 
added  by  CHARLES  COTTON  (1630-1687),  a  clever  poet,  author 
of  The  Voyage  to  Ireland,  the  friend  and  adopted  son  of  Isaac, 
and  his  rival   in   the  passion   for  angling.     The  continuation, 
though  inferior,  breathes  the  same  spirit,  and,  like  it,  contains 
many  beautiful  and  simple  lyrics  in  praise  of  the  art. 

283.  One  of  the  most  charming,  as  well  as  solid  and  useful, 
writers  of  this  period  was  JOHN  EVELYN  (1620-1706),  a  gentleman 


162  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  XV. 

of  good  family  and  considerable  fortune,  who  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  delightful  art,  so  successfully  practised  in  Eng- 
land, of  gardening  and  planting.  His  principal  works  are  Sylva, 
a  treatise  on  the  nature  and  management  of  forest-trees,  to  the 
precepts  of  which,  as  well  as  to  the  example  of  Evelyn  himself, 
the  country  is  indebted  for  its  abundance  of  magnificent  timber; 
and  Terra,  a  work  on  agriculture  and  gardening.  In  his  feeling 
for  the  art  of  gardening  he  is  the  worthy  successor  of  Bacon, 
and  predecessor  of  Shenstone.  Evelyn  has  left  also  a  Diary, 
j?«>,9)  giving  a  minute  account  of  the  state  of  society  in  his  time, 
and  pictures  of  the  incredible  infamy  and  corruption  of  the 
Court  of  Charles  II.,  through  the  abominations  of  which  the 
,  pure  and  gentle  spirit  of  Evelyn  passed,  like  the  Lady  in  Comus, 
amid  the  bestial  rout  of  the  Enchanter. 

284.  An  original  and  even  comic  personality  of  this  era  is 
SAMUEL  PEPYS  (1632-1703),  whose  individual  character  was  as 
singular  as  his  writings.  Though  the  cadet  of  an  ancient  family 
he  was  born  in  very  humble  circumstances ;  but  by  the  protection 
of  a  distant  connection,  Sir  Edward  Montagu,  he  was  placed  in 
a  subordinate  office  in  the  Admiralty;  and  by  his  punctuality, 
honesty,  and  knowledge  of  business,  he  gradually  rose  to  the 
important  post  of  Secretary  in  that  department.  He  remained 
many  years  in  this  office,  and  must  be  considered  as  almost  the 
only  honest  and  able  public  official  connected  with  the  Naval 
administration  during  the  reigns  of  Charles  II.  and  James  II. ; 
contributing  by  his  honesty  and  activity  to  the  reconstruction 
of  the  navy  that  took  place  in  the  latter  king's  reign.  During 
the  whole  of  his  long  and  active  career,  Pepys  had  amused  him- 
self, for  the  eternal  gratitude  of  posterity,  in  writing  down,  day 
by  day,  in  a  sort  of  cypher  or  shorthand,  a  Diary  of  everything 
he  saw,  did,  or  thought.  (i6'O)  After  having  been  preserved 
for  about  a  century  and  a  half,  this  composition  has  been  deci- 
phered and  given  to  the  world  in  the  present  century;  and  the 
whole  range  of  literature  does  not  present  a  record  more  curious 
in  itself,  or  exhibiting  a  more  singular  and  laughable  type  of 
human  character.  Pepys  was  not  only  by  nature  a  thorough 
gossip,  curious  as  an  old  woman,  with  a  strong  taste  for  occa- 
sional jollifications,  and  a  touch  of  the  antiquary  and  curiosity- 
hunter;  but  he  was  necessarily  brought  into  contact  with  all 
classes  of  persons,  from  the  King  and  his  Ministers  down  to  the 
.poor  half-starved  sailors  whose  pay  he  had  to  distribute.  The 


A.  D.  1611-1677.    JAMES  HARRINGTON.  163 

Diary  is  a  complete  scandalous  chronicle  of  a  society  so  gay  and 
debauched  that  the  simple  description  of  what  took  place  is 
equal  to  the  most  dramatic  picture  of  the  novelist.  The  states- 
men, courtiers,  and  players,  actually  live  before  our  eyes ;  and 
there  is  no  book  that  gives  so  lively  a  portraiture  of  one  of  the 
extraordinary  states  of  society  that  then  existed.  Pepys'  own 
character — an  inimitable  mixture  of  shrewdness,  vanity,  good 
sense,  and  simplicity  —  infinitely  exalts  the  piquancy  of  his  rev- 
elations ;  and  his  book  possesses  the  double  interest  of  the  value 
and  curiosity  of  its  matter,  and  of  the  coloring  given  to  that 
matter  by  the  oddity  of  the  narrator. 

285.  The  political  commotions  of  this  century  naturally 
awakened  a  keen  interest  in  the  philosophy  of  government  and 
started  many  eager  minds  on  the  investigation  of  the  principles 
on  which  civil  authority  and  civil  society  are  based.  High  mo- 
narchical notions  were  advocated  by  SIR  ROBERT  FILMER  (d. 
1688),  who,  in  his  Patriarcha,  published  in  1680,  arrived,  though 
by  a  different  process  of  reasoning,  at  the  same  results  as  Hobbes. 
His  fundamental  principle  is,  that  the  paternal  authority  is  abso- 
lute, and  that  the  first  kings  beingYathers  of  families  have  trans- 
mitted their  power  to  their  descendants.  This  principle  was  first 
combated  by  the  illustrious  Algernon  Sidney  (1621-1683),  whose 
Discoiirses  on  Government  (153}  is  a  formal  refutation  of  Fil- 
mer's  theory.  JAMES  HARRINGTON  also  (1611-1677),  i°  his 
Oceana,  attempted  a  solution  of  the  same  ever-interesting  prob- 
lem. This  work,  like  Bacon's  "  New  Atlantis,"  contains  an  elab- 
orate scheme  for  the  establishment  of  a  pure  republic  upon  phil- 
osophical principles,  carried  out  to  those  minute  details  that  are 
so  frequently  found  in  paper  constitutions.  Harrington  was  the 
founder  of  the  famous  Rota  Club,  a  Society  of  political  enthu- 
siasts who  met  to  discuss  their  pet  theories,  to  which  belonged 
most  of  the  philosophical  republicans  of  the  day. 


164  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.         CHAP.  XVI. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE  NEW  DRAMA  AND  THE  CORRECT  POETS. 

286.  THE  new  drama  that  followed  the  Restoration  differed 
from  the  old  both  in  moral  tone  and  literary  form.     As  to  the 
first,  it  is  marked  by  that  profound  corruption  which   distin- 
guishes the  reign  of  Charles   II. ;    and  as  to  the  second,  the 
artificial  distinction  between   tragedy  and  comedy  was  strongly 
marked,  and  generally  maintained  with   the  same  severity  as 
upon  the  stage  of  France,  which  had  become  the  chief  model  of 
imitation.     In  the  place  of  the  Romantic  Drama  arose  the  exag- 
gerated, heroic,  and  stilted  tragedy  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the 
other  the  Comedy  of  artificial  life,  which,  drawing  its  materials 
not  from  nature,  but  from  society,  took  for  its  aim  the  delinea- 
tion  not  of  character,  but  of  manners  —  which   is   indeed    the 
proper  object  of  what  is  correctly  termed  Comedy  in  the  strictest 
sense.     Wit,  therefore,  now  supplanted  humor;    and  England 
produced,  during  the  seventeenth   and  part  of  the  eighteenth 
centuries,  a  constellation  of  splendid  dramatists;  whose  works, 
however,  owing  to  their  abominable  profligacy,  are  now  become 
almost  unknown  to  the  general  reader. 

287.  Though  this  class  of  writers  may  be  said  to  begin  with 
SIR  GEORGE  ETHEREGE  (1636-1689) — whose  principal  work, 
the  Man  of  Mode,  or    Sir  Fopling  Flutter,  was  produced   in 
1676  —  yet  the  earliest  of  any  eminence  was  WILLIAM  WYCH- 
ERLEY  (1640-1715).     Born  of  a  good  Shropshire  family,  he  was 
educated  in  France,  where  he  embraced  Catholicism ;  but  upon 
his  return  to  England  he  once  more  became  a  member  of  the 
national  church.     Adorned  with  all  the  graces  of  P>ench  court- 
liness, and  remarkable  for  the  beauty  of  his  person,  Wycherley, 
while  nominally  studying  the  Law,  became  a  brilliant  figure 
the  gay  and  profligate  society  of  the  day.     His  first  comedy, 
Love  in  a  Wood,  was  not  acted  until  he  had  reached  the  age  of 
about  thirty-two  ;  which  was  followed,  in  1673,  by  the  Gentlemen 
Dancing- Master )  the  plot  of  which  was  borrowed  from  Calderon. 


A.  D.  1636-1715.    ETHEREGE.     WYCHERLET.  165 

His  two  greatest  and  most  successful  comedies  are  the  Country 
Wife,  acted  in  1675,  and  the  Plain  Dealer,  in  1677.  His  union 
with  the  Countess  of  Drogheda,  which  commenced  in  an  acci- 
dental and  even  romantic  manner,  was  not  such  as  to  secure 
either  his  happiness  or  his  interest;  and  after  her  death  he  re- 
mained several  years  in  confinement  for  debt.  He  was  at  last 
liberated,  partly  by  the  assistance  of  James  II. ;  and  on  this 
occasion  he  rejoined  the  Catholic  church.  The  remainder  of 
Wycherley's  life  is  melancholy  and  ignoble.  In  1704,  with  the 
assistance  of  Pope,  then  a  mere  boy,  he  concocted  a  huge 
collection  of  stupid  and  obscene  poems,  which  fell  dead  upon 
the  public.  The  momentary  friendship  and  bitter  quarrel  of  the 
old  man  and  the  young  critic  form  a  curious  and  instructive  pic- 
ture. On  his  very  death-bed  he  married  a  young  girl  of  sixteen, 
with  the  sole  purpose  of  injuring  his  family. 

288.  It  is  by  the    Country  Wife  and   the  Plain  Dealer  that 
posterity  will  judge  the  dramatic  genius  of  Wycherley.     Of  the 
first,  the  leading  idea  is  evidently  borrowed  from  the  Ecole  dcs 
Femmes   of  Molieije,   and    that   of   the    second  from   the   same 
author's  Misanthrope.     Nothing  can  more  clearly  indicate  the 
unspeakable  moral  corruption  of  that  epoch  in  our  drama,  and 
the  degree  in  which  that  corruption  was  exemplified  by  Wych- 
erley, than  to  observe  the  way  in  which  he  has  modified,  while 
he  borrowed,  the  data  of  the  Great  French  dramatist.     Never- 
theless the  intrigue  of  the  piece  is  animated  and  amusing;  and 
the  dialogue,  as  is  invariably  the  case  in  Wycherley's  produc- 
tions, is  elaborated  to  a  high  degree  of  liveliness  and  repartee. 
In  the  Plain  Dealer  the  writer's  total  want  of  sensibility  to  moral 
impressions  is  still  more  painfully  apparent.     The  tone  of  sen- 
timent in  Moliere,   as  in  all  creators  of  the   highest   order,  is 
invariably  pure  in  its  general  tendency.     Alceste,  in  sjfcite  of  his 
faults,  is  a  truly  respectable  —  nay,  a  noble  character.    But  Wych- 
erley borrowed  Alceste ;  and  in  his  hands  the  virtuous  and  in- 
jured hero  of  Moliere  has  become,  to  use  Macaulay's  words,  "  a 
ferocious  sensualist,  who  believes  himself  to  be  as  great  a  rascal 
as  he  thinks  everybody  else." 

289.  The   second  prominent  name  in  this  group  of  brilliant 
comic  writers  is  that  of  SIR  JOHN  VANBRUGH  (1666-1726),  who 
united  in  his  person  the  rarely  combined   talents  of  architect 
and  dramatist.     Of  his  skill  as  an  architect,  Castle  Howard  and 
Blenheim  are  enduring  monuments;  the  latter  being  the  splendid 


166  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.         CHAP.  XVI. 

palace  constructed  at  the  national  expense  for  the  Duke  of  Marl- 
borough.  Vanbrugh  was  appointed  King-at-Arms;  and  was 
employed,  both  in  this  function,  and  as  an  architect,  in  many 
honorable  posts. 

290.  Vanbrugh's  comedies,  the  production  of  which  com- 
menced in  1697,  are  the  Relapse,  the  Provoked  Wife,  SEsop,  the 
Confederacy,  and  the  first  sketch  of  the  Provoked  Husband,  left 
unfinished,  and  afterwards  completed  by  Colley  Gibber.  It  still 
keeps  possession  of  the  stage,  and  is  one  of  the  best  and  most 
popular  comedies  in  the  language.  Vanbrugh's  principal  merit 
is  inexhaustible  liveliness  of  character  and  incident.  His  fops, 
his  booby  squires,  his  pert  chamber-maids,  and  valets,  his  in- 
triguing ladies,  his  romps,  and  his  blacklegs,  are  all  drawn  from 
the  life,  and  delineated  with  great  vivacity :  though  there  is  a 
good  deal  of  exaggeration  in  his  characters.  In  the  Relapse, 
Lord  Foppington  is  an  admirable  impersonation  of  the  pom- 
pous and  suffocating  coxcomb  of  those  days  ;  Sir  Tunbelly  Clum- 
sy, the  dense,  brutal,  ignorant  country  squire,  a  sort  of  proto- 
type of  Fielding's  Western,  forms  an  excellent  contrast  with 
him ;  and  in  Hoyden,  Vanbrugh  has  given  the  first  specimen  of 
a  class  of  characters  which  he  drew  with  peculiar  skill,  that  of 
a  bouncing  rebellious  girl,  full  of  animal  spirits,  and  awaiting 
only  the  opportunity  to  break  out  of  all  rule.  The  most  strik- 
ing character  in  the  Provoked  Wife  is  Sir  John  Brute,  whose 
drunken  uproarious  blackguardism  was  one  of  Garrick's  best 
impersonations.  The  Confederacy  is  perhaps  Vanbrugh's  finest 
comedy  in  point  of  plot.  All  the  sentimental  portions  of  the 
Provoked  Husband  were  the  additions  of  Colley  Cibber,  who 
lived  at  a  time  when  the  moral  4>r  sermonizing  element  was 
thought  essential  in  comedy.  This  part  of  the  intrigue,  how- 
ever, had  the  honor  of  being  the  prototype  of  Sheridan's  de- 
lightful scenes  between  Sir  Peter  and  Lady  Teazle  in  the  School 
for  Scandal.  In  brilliancy  of  dialogue,  Vanbrugh  is  inferior  to 
Wycherley;  but  his  high  animal  spirits,  and  his  extraordinary 
power  of  contriving  sudden  incidents,  more  than  compensate 
for  the  deficiency. 

2U1.  GEORGE  FARQUHAR  (1678-1708)  was  born  at  London- 
derry ;  and  having  received  some  education  at  college  he  joined 
the  stage;  which,  after  a  time,  he  quitted,  and  served  for  a  short 
period  in  the  army.  His  military  experience  enabled  him  to 
give  very  lively  and  faithful  representations  of  gay,  rattling  ofTi- 


A.  D.  1678-1729.     FARQUHAR.     CONOREVE.  167 

cers ;  and  furnished  him  with  materials  for  one  of  his  pleasant- 
est  comedies.  His  dramatic  productions  consist  of  seven  plays  : 
Love  and  a  Bottle,  the  Constant  Couple,  the  Inconstant,  the 
Stage  Coach,  the  Tivin  Rivals,  the  Recruiting  Officer,  and  the 
Beaux'  Stratagem.  These  were  produced  in  rapid  succession, 
for  the  literary  career  of  poor  Farquhar  was  compressed  into  a 
short  space  of  time  —  between  1698,  when  the  first  of  the  above 
pieces  was  acted,  and  the  author's  early  death  about  1708. 

292.  The  works  of  Farquhar  are  a  faithful  reflection  of  his 
gay,  loving,  vivacious  character;  and  it  appears  that  down  to 
his  early  death,  not  only  did  they  go  on  increasing  in  joyous 
animation,  but  exhibited  a  constantly  augmenting  skill  and  in- 
genuity in  construction,  his  last  works  being  incomparably  his 
best.  Among  them  the  best  are  the  Constant  Couple  (the  in- 
trigue of  which  is  extremely  animated),  the  Inconstant,  the  Re- 
cruiting Officer,  and  the  Beaux'  Stratagem.  The  Beaux'  Strat- 
agem is  decidedly  the  best-constructed  of  our  author's  plays ; 
and  the  expedient  of  the  two  embarrassed  gentlemen,  who  come 
down  into  the  country  disguised  as  a  master  and  his  servant, 
though  not  perhaps  very  probable,  is  extremely  well  conducted, 
and  furnishes  a  series  of  lively  and  amusing  adventures. 
Throughout  Farquhar's  plays  the  predominant  quality  is  a  gay 
geniality,  which  more  than  compensates  for  his  less  elaborate 
brilliancy  in  sparkling  repartee.  He  seems  always  to  write 
from  his  heart ;  and  therefore,  though  we  shall  in  vain  seek  in 
his  dramas  for  a  very  high  standard  of  morality,  his  writings 
are  free  from  that  inhuman  tone  of  blackguard  heartlessness 
which  disgraces  the  comic  literature  of  the  time. 

203.  WILLIAM  CONGREVE  (1670-1729)  will  always  stand  at 
the  very  head  of  the  comic  dramatists;  while  he  certainly  occu- 
pies no  undistinguished  place  among  the  tragedians.  He  was 
born  in  Yorkshire  of  an  ancient  and  honorable  family,  in  1670; 
and  received  his  education,  first  at  a  school  in  Kilkenny,  and 
afterwards  at  the  University  of  Dublin ;  where  he  acquired  a 
considerable  amount  of  scholarship,  particularly  in  the  depart- 
ment of  Latin  literature.  During  his  whole  life  he  seems  to 
have  thirsted  after  fame  both  as  a  man  of  elegance  and  as  a 
man  of  letters;  but  he  was  all  his  life  tormented  by  the  diffi- 
culty of  harmonizing  the  two  incompatible  aspirations.  Con- 
greve's  career  was  singularly  auspicious  :  the  brilliancy  of  his 
early  works  received  instant  recompense  in  solid  patronage ;  ha 


108  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.          CHAP.  XVI. 

obtained  many  lucrative  sinecures  ;  he  associated  on  equal  terms 
with  the  greatest  and  most  splendid  of  his  time,  and  accumu- 
lated a  large  fortune.  He  was  regarded  by  the  poets,  from 
Dryden  to  Pope,  with  enthusiastic  admiration :  the  former 
hailed  his  entrance  upon  the  literary  arena  with  fervent  praise, 
and  in  some  very  touching  lines  named  Congreve  his  poetical 
successor:  and  the  latter,  when  publishing  his  great  work  of 
the  translation  of  Homer,  passed  over  the  powerful  and  the 
illustrious  to  dedicate  his  book  to  him.  In  his  old  age  Congreve 
became  the  intimate  friend  of  the  eccentric  Henrietta,  Duchess 
of  Marlborough,  daughter  and  inheritress  of  the  great  Duke; 
to  whom  at  his  death  he  bequeathed  the  bulk  of  his  fortune. 

294.  The  literary  career  of  Congreve  begins  with  a  novel  of 
insignificant  merit,  which  he  published  under  the  pseudonym  of 
Cleophil ;  but  the  real  inauguration  of  his  glory  was  the  repre- 
sentation, in  1693,  of  his  first  comedy,  the  Old  Bachelor.     This 
work,  the  production  of  a  young  man  of  twenty-three,  was  re- 
ceived by  the  public  and  by  the  critics  with  a  tempest  of  applause. 
The  chief  merit  is  the  unrivalled  ease  and  brilliancy  of  the  dia- 
logue.    Congreve's  scenes  are  one  incessant  flash  and  sparkle 
of  the  finest  repartee;   the  dazzling  rapier-thrusts  of  wit  and 
satiric  pleasantry  succeed  each  other  without  cessation  ;  but  the 
quality  in  which   he   stands  alone  is  his  skill  in  divesting  this 
brilliant  intellectual  sword-play  of  every  shade  of  formality  and 
constraint.     His  conversations  are  an  exact  copy  of  refined  and 
intellectual  conversation,  though  of  course  containing  far  more 
brilliancy  than  any  real  conversation  ever  exhibited.    The  char- 
acters in  the  Old  Bachelor,  though  conventional,  are  exceedingly 
amusing :  for  example,  Captain  Bluff  is  a  reproduction  of  the 
bullying  braggadocio  almost  deserving  of  a  place  beside  Parolles, 
Bessus,  and  Bobadill. 

295.  Congreve's  second  theatrical  venture,  the  Double  Dealer, 
acted  in  1694,  was  much  less  successful  than  its  predecessor;  but 
Love  for  Love,  which  was  acted  in  1695,  is  a  masterpiece.     The 
intrigue  is  effective,  and  the  characters  exhibit  infinite  variety, 
and  relieve  each  other  with  unrelaxing  spirit.     Valentine,  An- 
gelica, Sir  Sampson  Legend,  the  doting  old  astrologer  Foresight, 
Mrs.  Frail,  Miss  Prue,  and  above  all  the  inimitable  Ben  —  the 
first  attempt  to  portray  on  the  stage  the  rough,  unsophisticated 
sailor  —  the  whole  dramatis  persona,  down  to  the  most  insig- 
nificant, are  a  crowd  of  picturesque  and  well-contrasted  oddities. 


A.D.  1 650-1720.       JEREMY  COLLIER.  1G9 

Sir  Sampson  Legend  is  one  of  those  big  blustering  characters 
that  make  their  way  by  noise  and  confidence ;  and  was  the  model 
whence  Sheridan  afterwards  copied  his  Sir  Anthony  Absolute. 

29G.  Two  years  after  this  triumph  Congreve  produced  his  one 
tragedy,  the  Mourning-  Bride,  which  was  received  with  no  less 
ardent  encomiums  than  the  comedies.  This  piece  is  written  in 
that  pompous,  solemn,  and  imposing  strain  which  the  adoption 
of  French  models  had  rendered  universal.  Its  chief  merits  con- 
sist in  dignified  passages  of  declamation ;  and  there  are  several 
descriptive  ones  of  considerable  power  and  melody,  though  their 
merit  is  rather  that  of  narrative  than  dramatic  poetry.  Of  this 
kind  is  the  perpetually  quoted  description  of  a  temple,  which 
Dr.  Johnson  so  extravagantly  eulogizes. 

297.  In  1698,  JEREMY  COLLIER  (1650-1726),  an  ardent,  non- 
juring  clergyman,  published  his  Short  View  of  the  Profanencss 
and  Immorality  of  the  English  Stage.    This  pamphlet  was  writ- 
ten with  extraordinary  fire,  wit,  and  energy;  and  the  evil  which 
it  combated  was  so  general,  so  inveterate,  and  so  glaring,  that 
he  immediately  ranged  upon  his  side  all  moral  and  thinking  men 
in  the  nation.     He  anatomized  with  a  vigorous  and  unsparing 
scalpel  the  foul  ulcer  of  theatrical  immorality,  and  cauterized  it 
with  such  merciless  satire  that  Dryden,  powerful  as  he  was  in 
controversy,  remained  silent  out  of  shame.     The  gauntlet,  how- 
ever, was  taken  up  by  Congreve ;  but  the  defence  he  made  was 
poor,  and  the  victory  remained,  both   as  regards  morality  and 
wit,  on  the  side  of  Collier.     The  controversy  had  the  effect  of 
inaugurating  a  better  tone  in  the  drama  and  in  lighter  literature 
in  general ;  and  from  that  period  dates  the  gradual  but  rapid 
improvement  which  has  ended  in  rendering  the  literature  of 
England  the  purest  and  healthiest  in  Europe. 

298.  Congreve's  last  dramatic  work  was  the  Way  of  the  World, 
performed  in  1700.     Its  success  was  not  great,  although  its  dia- 
logue exhibits  the  rare  charm  which  never  deserted  him,  and 
though  it  contains  in  Millamant  one  of  the  most  delicious  por- 
traits of  a  gay  triumphant  beauty,  coquette,  and  fine  lady,  ever 
placed  upon  the  stage.     In  his  old  age  the  poet  produced  a  vol- 
ume of  fugitive  and  miscellaneous  trifles,  which  do  not  much  rise 
above  the  level  of  a  class  of  composition  extremely  fashionable 
at  that  period. 

299.  Among  the  exclusively  tragic  dramatists  of  the  age  of 
Dryden,  the  first  place  belongs  to  THOMAS  OTWAY  (1651-1685), 


170  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.         CHAP.  XVI. 

who  died,  after  a  life  of  wretchedness  and  irregularity,  at  the 
early  age  of  thirty-four.  He  received  a  regular  education  at 
Winchester  School  and  Oxford,  but  very  early  embraced  the 
profession  of  the  actor;  in  wrhich  part  of  his  career  he  produced 
three  tragedies  —  Alcibiades,  Don  Carlos,  and  Titus  and  Bere- 
nice. After  a  brief  service  in  the  army  he  returned  to  the  stage ; 
and  in  the  years  extending  from  1680  to  his  death  he  wrote  four 
more  tragedies — Caius  Marc/us,  The  Orphan,  The  Soldiers 
Fortune,  and  Venice  Preserved.  All  these  works,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  The  Orphan  and  Venice  Preserved,  are  now  nearly 
forgotten ;  but  the  glory  of  Otway  is  so  firmly  established  upon 
these  latter,  that  it  will  probably  endure  as  long  as  the  language 
itself.  The  life  of  this  unfortunate  poet  was  an  uninterrupted 
series  of  poverty  and  distress;  and  his  death  has  frequently  been 
cited  as  a  striking  instance  of  the  miseries  of  a  literary  career. 

300.  As   a  tragic  dramatist,  Otway's  most  striking  merit  is  his 
pathos.     The  distress  in  his  pieces  is  carried  to  an  intense  and 
almost  hysterical  pitch :  the  sufferings  of  Monimia  in  The  Or- 
phan, and  the  moral  agonies  inflicted  upon  Belvidera  in  Venice 
Preserved,  are  carried  to  an  almost  intolerable  height;  but  we 
see   tokens   of  the   essentially  second-rate   quality  of  Otway's 
genius  the  moment  he  attempts  to  delineate  madness.     The  fre- 
quent declamatory  scenes  are  worked  up  to  a  high  degree  of 
excellence;   and  Otway,  with  the  true  instinct  of  dramatic  fit- 
ness, has  introduced  many  of  those  familiar  and  domestic  details 
from  which  the  high  classical  dramatist  would  have  shrunk  as 
too  ignoble.     Otway's  style  is  vigorous  and  racy;  and  in  reading 
his  best  passages  we  are  perpetually  struck  by  a  sort  of  flavor  of  ' 
Ford,  Beaumont,  and  other  great  masters  of  the  Elizabethan  era. 

301.  NATHANIEL  LEE  (d.  1692),  known  generally  as  "  the  mad 
poet,"  not  only  assisted  Dryden  in  the  composition  of  several 
of  his  pieces,  but  produced  many  original  dramatic  works,  the 
most  celebrated  of  which  is  the  Rival  Queens,  or  Alexander  the 
Great.     THOMAS  SOUTHERNS  (1659-1746)  was  the  author  often 
plays,  the  most  conspicuous  of  which  are  the  tragedies  of  Isa- 
bella, or  the  Fatal  Marriage,  and  the  pathetic  drama  of  Oroo- 
nolto.     The  latter  is  founded  upon   the  true  adventures  of  an 
African  prince :  the  subject  is  said  to  have  been  given  to  Sou- 
therne  by  Aphra  Behn,  who  being  the  daughter  of  a  governor  of 
Surinam,  where  the  events  took  place,  was  personally  acquainted 
both  with  the  incidents  and  the  individuals  which   form   tho 


A.  D.  1673-1692..      HOWE.     SHADWELL.  171 

groundwork  of  the  story.  Among  the  seventeen  pieces  produced 
by  JOHN  CROWNE  (d.  1703?)  may  be  mentioned  the  tragedy  of 
Thyestes  and  the  comedy  entitled  Sir  Courtly  Nice.  Both  of 
these  works  possess  considerable  merit. 

302.  NICHOLAS   ROWE    (1673-1718)    was   born    in    1673,    and 
studied   in   the  Temple,  employing  his  leisure  hours  in  writing 
for  the  stage.     He  was  cordially  received  in   the  brilliant  and 
literary  circles  of  his  day,  and  was  a  member  of  that  intellectual 
society  which   surrounded  Pope,    Swift,  Arbuthnot,  and   Prior, 
and  which  was  bound  together  by  such  strong  ties  of  intimacy 
and  friendship.      His  career  was  most  brilliant.     He  was  not 
only  in  possession  of  an  independent  fortune,  but  was  splendidly 
rewarded  for  his  literary  exertions  by  the  gift  of  many  lucrative 
places  in  the  patronage  of  Government.     Thus  he  was  Poet- 
Laureate  and  Surveyor  of  the  Customs,  Clerk  of  the  Council  in 
the  service  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  Clerk  of  the  Presenta- 
tions.    The  profession  of  letters  enjoyed  a  transient  gleam  of 
prosperity  and  consideration ;  the  period  preceding  and  that  fol- 
lowing this  epoch  being  remarkable  for  the  want  of  social  con- 
sideration —  nay,    the    degradation    attaching    to    the    author's 
profession.     Rowe  was   the  first  who   undertook  an  edition  of 
Shakspeare  upon  true  critical  and  philological  principles ;  and 
his  edition  has,  at  all  events,  the  merit  of  exhibiting  a  profound 
and  loyal  admiration  of  the  great  poet's  genius.      His  dramatic, 
productions  amount  to  seven,  the  principal  being  Jane  S/tore, 
the  Fair  Penitent,  and  Lady  Jane  Grey,  all  of  course  tragedies. 
Tenderness  is  Rowe's  chief  dramatic  merit;  in  the  diction  of  his 
-works   we    incessantly  trace    the   influence  of  his   study  of  the 
manner  of  the  great  Elizabethan  playwrights.     But    this  imi- 
tation is  often  only  superficial.     In  the  Fair  Penitent,  which  is 
simply  the  Fatal  Doivry  of  Massinger  in  another  form,  we  have 
an  almost  intolerable  load  of  sorrow  accumulated  on  the  head  of 
the  heroine.     It  is  curious  that  the  character  of  the   seducer  in 
this  play,   "  the  gallant,  gay  Lothario,"  should  have  become  the 
proverbial  type  of  the   faithless  lover  —  just   as  Don  Juan   has 
been  in  our  own  time  —  and  should  have  furnished  Richardson 
with  the  outline  which  he  filled  up  so  successfully  in  his  masterly 
portrait  of  Lovelace. 

303.  The  only  other  names  that  need  be   cited  among   the 
dramatists   of  this   period    are   those   of    Shadwell   and   Lillo. 
THOMAS  SHADWELL  (1640-1692)  wrote  seventeen  plays,  but  is 


172  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.         CHAP.  XVI. 

now  chiefly  known  by  Dryden's  satire  as  the  hero  of  Mac-Fleck* 
noe,  and  the  Og  of  Absalom  and  AchitopJieL  On  the  Revolu- 
tion, he  succeeded  Dryden  as  Poet-Laureate.  GEORGE  LILLO 
(1693-1739)  is  in  many  respects  a  remarkable  and  singular 
literary  figure.  His  dramatic  works  consist  of  a  peculiar  species 
of  what  may  be  called  tragedies  of  domestic  life;  and  the  prin- 
cipal of  them  are  George  Barn-well,  the  Fatal  Curiosity,  and 
Ardcn  of  Faversham.  In  George  Barmvell  is  traced  the  career 
of  a  London  shopman  —  a  real  person  —  who  is  lured  by  the 
artifices  of  an  abandoned  woman  and  the  force  of  his  own  pas- 
sion first  into  embezzlement,  and  then  into  the  murder  of  an 
uncle ;  and  finally  expiates  his  offences  on  the  scaffold.  The 
subject  of  the  Fatal  Curiosity,  Lillo's  most  powerful  work,  is 
far  more  dramatic  in  its  interest.  A  couple,  reduced  by  circum- 
stances, and  by  the  absence  of  their  son,  to  the  lowest  depths  of 
distress,  receive  into  their  house  a  stranger,  who  is  evidently  in 
possession  of  a  large  sum  :  while  he  is  asleep,  they  determine  to 
assassinate  him  for  the  purpose  of  plunder,  and  afterwards  dis- 
cover in  their  victim  their  long-lost  son.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  the  tragic  story  of  Ardcn  of  Faversham,  a  tissue  of  conjugal 
infidelity  and  murder,  was  an  event  that  really  took  place  in  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth,  and  had  furnished  materials  for  a  very  popu- 
lar drama,  attributed,,  but  on  insufficient  evidence,  to  Shakspeare 
among  other  playwrights  of  the  time. 

304.  It  is  remarkable  how  many  of  the  non-dramatic  poetical 
writers  of  this  time  were  men  of  rank  and  fashion  :  their  literary 
efforts  were  regarded  as  the  elegant  accomplishment  of  ama- 
teurs; and  though  their  more  ambitious  productions  are  gen- 
erally didactic  and  critical,  and  their  lighter  works  graceful  and 
harmonious  songs,  they  must  be  regarded  less  as  the  deliberate 
results  of  literary  labor  than  as  the  pastime  of  fashionable  dilet- 
tanti. EARL  of  ROSCOMMON  (1634-1685),  the  nephew  of  the  fa- 
mous Straffbrd,  produced  a  poetical  £ssay  on  Translated  Verse 
and  a  version  of  the  Art  of  Poetry  from  Horace,  which  were 
received  by  the  public  and  the  men  of  letters  with  an  extrava- 
gance of  praise  attributable  to  the  respect  then  entertained  for 
any  intellectual  accomplishment  in  a  nobleman.  EARL  of  ROCH- 
ESTER (1647-1680),  so  celebrated  for  his  insane  debaucheries  and 
the  witty  eccentricities  which  made  him  one  of  the  most  promi- 
ne.nt  figures  in  the  profligate  court  of  Charles  II.,  produced  a 
number  of  poems,  chiefly  songs  and  fugitive  lyrics,  which  proved 


A.  D.  1676-1703.    PHILIPS.    POMFBET.  173 

how  great  were  the  natural  talents  he  had  wasted  in  the  most 
insane  extravagance.  To  the  same  category  may  be  ascribed 
the  DUKE  of  BUCKINGHAM  (Sheffield)  (1649-1721),  and  the  EARL 
of  DORSET  (1638-1706),  perfect  specimens  of  the  aristocratic 
literary  dilettanti  of  those  days.  The  former  is  best  known  by 
his  F.ssvy  on  Poetry,  written  in  the  heroic  couplet;  the  latter  by 
his  charming,  playful  song  —  To  all  you  ladies  now  on  land,  said 
to  have  been  written  at  sea  on  the  eve  of  an  engagement  with 
the  Dutch  fleet  under  Opdam.  It  is  addressed  by  the  courtly 
volunteer  to  the  ladies  of  Whitehall,  and  breathes  the  gay  and 
gallant  spirit  that  animates  the  chanson  militaire,  in  which  the 
French  so  much  excel. 

305.  The  only  poets  of  any  comparative  importance,  not  be- 
longing to  the  higher  classes  of  society,  were  Philips  and 
Pomfret,  both  of  whom  lived  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  JOHN  PHILIPS  (1676-1708)  is  the  author  of  a  half- 
descriptive,  half-didactic  poem  on  the  manufacture  of  Cider, 
written  upon  the  plan  of  the  Georgics  of  Virgil ;  and  of  Blen- 
heim, an  heroic  poem  on  the  exploits  of  Marlborough ;  but  he 
is  now  known  to  the  general  reader  by  his  Splendid  Shilling,  a 
pleasant  jeu  d' esprit,  in  which  the  learned  and  pompous  style 
of  Milton  is  agreeably  parodied,  by  being  applied  to  the  most 
trivial  subject.  JOHN  POMFRET  (1667-1703)  was  a  clergyman; 
and  the  only  work  by  which  he  is  now  remembered  is  his  poem 
of  The  Choice,  giving  a  sketch  of  such  a  life  of  rural  and  literary 
retirement  as  has  been  the  hoc  erat  in  votis  of  so  many. 


174  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.        CHAP.  XVIL 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

THE    SECOND    REVOLUTION. 

306.  THE  period  of  the  great  and  beneficent  Revolution  of  1688 
was  characterized  bj  the  establishment  of  constitutional  free- 
dom in  the  state,  and  no  less  by  a  powerful  outburst  of  practical 
progress  in  science  and  philosophy.  It  was  this  period  that  pro- 
duced Newton  in  physical,  and  Locke  in  intellectual  science. 
JOHN  LOCKE  (1632-1704)  was  born  in  1632,  educated  at  West- 
minster School  and  Christ-Church,  Oxford,  where  he  particu- 
larly devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  the  physical  sciences,  and 
especially  of  medicine.  There  is  no  question  also  that  his  in- 
vestigations during  the  thirteen  years  of  his  residence  at  Oxford 
had  been  much  turned  to  metaphysical  subjects,  and  that  he  had 
seen  the  necessity  of  applying  to  this  branch  of  knowledge  that 
experimental  or  inductive  method  of  which  his  great  master 
Bacon  was  the  apostle.  After  declining  an  offer  from  the  Duke 
of  Ormond  of  high  preferment  in  the  Irish  Church,  he  in 
1666  became  acquainted  with  Lord  Ashley,  afterwards  Earl  of 
Shaftesbury,  to  whom  he  is  said  to  have  rendered  himself  useful 
by  his  medical  skill.  He  attached  himself  intimately  both  to 
the  domestic  circle  and  to  the  political  fortunes  of  this  states- 
man, in  whose  house  he  resided  several  years,  having  under- 
taken the  education  first  of  the  Chancellor's  son  and  afterwards 
of  his  grandson;  the  latter  of  whom  has  left  no  unworthy  name 
as  an  elegant,  philosophical,  and  moral  essayist.  He  was  nom- 
inated, on  his  patron  becoming  Chancellor  in  1672,  Secretary 
of  the  Presentations,  with  which  he  combined  another  appoint- 
ment; but  these  he  lost  in  the  following  year  on  the  first  fall  of 
his  patron.  In  1675  he  visited  PVance  for  his  health;  and  his 
journals  and  letters  are  not  only  valuable  for  the  accurate  but 
very  unfavorable  account  they  give  of  the  then  state  of  French 
society,  but  are  exceedingly  amusing,  animated,  and  gay.  In 
1679  Locke  returned  to  England  and  rejoined  Shaftesbury  on 
his  second  accession  to  power,  but  soon  shared  in  the  final  fall 
of  that  statesman. 


A.  D.  1G32-1704.  JOHN  LOCKE.  175 

307.  He  now  sought  an  asylum  in  Holland,  was  deprived  of 
his  studentship  at  Christ-Church,  and  denounced  as  a  factious 
and  rebellious  agitator,  and  as  a  dangerous  heresiarch  in  philos- 
ophy. At  the  Revolution  of  1688  he  returned  to  England  in  the 
same  fleet  which  conveyed  Queen  Mary  from  Holland  to  the 
country  whose  crown  she  had  been  called  to  share.  From  this 
period  his  career  was  eminently  useful,  active,  and  even  brilliant. 
He  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Council  of  Trade;  and  in 
that  capacity  took  a  prominent  part  in  carrying  out  Montague's 
difficult  and  most  critical  operation  of  calling  in  and  reissuing 
the  silver  coinage;  but  after  a  short  service  Locke  retired  from 
public  employment,  and  resided  during  the  remainder  of  his 
life  with  his  friend  Sir  F.  Masham,  at  Gates,  in  Essex.  Lady 
Masham,  an  accomplished  and  intellectual  woman,  and  the 
daughter  of  the  philosopher  Cudworth,  was  tenderly  loved  and 
respected  by  her  illustrious  guest,  who  enjoyed  under  her  roof 
the  ease  and  tranquillity  he  had  so  nobly  earned.  Locke  died  in 
1704;  and  his  personal  character  seems  to  have  been  one  of 
those  which  approach  perfection  as  nearly  as  can  be  expected 
from  our  fallible  and  imperfect  nature. 

oOS.  The  writings  of  this  excellent  thinker  are  numerous, 
varied  in  subject,  all  eminently  useful,  and  breathing  a  constant 
love  of  humanity.  In  1689  ne  published  the  Letters  on  Tolera- 
tion, originally  composed  in  Latin,  but  immediately  translated 
into  French  and  English  ;  in  which  work  he  goes  over  somewhat 
the  same  ground  as  had  been  occupied  by  Jeremy  Taylor  (21.6) 
in  his  Liberty  of  Prophesying,  ajid  by  Milton  in  the  immortal 
Areopagitica.  (130)  The  Treatise  on  Civil  Government  was 
undertaken  to  overthrow  those  slavish  theories  of  Divine  Right 
which  were  then  so  predominant  among  the  extreme  monarchi- 
cal parties,  and  nowhere  carried  to  such  extravagance  as  in  the 
University  of  Oxford.  Locke's  more  special  object  was  the 
refutation  of  Sir  Robert  Filmer's  once  famous  book  entitled 
Patriarcha,  already  referred  to.  Locke  combats  and  overthrows 
his  monstrous  theory,  and  seeks  for  the  origin  of  government  in 
the  common  interest  of  society ;  showing  that  any  form  of  policy 
which  secures  that  interest  may  lawfully  be  acquiesced  in,  while 
none  that  does  not  secure  it  can  claim  any  privilege  of  exemp- 
tion from  resistance. 

300.  The  greatest,  most  important,  and  most  universally 
known  of  Locke's  works  is  the  Essay  on  the  Human  Understand- 


176   ^  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.        CHAP.  XVII. 

ing.  (161}  In  this  book,  which  contains  the  reflections  and 
researches  of  his  whole  life,  and  which  was  in  the  course  of  com- 
position during  eighteen  years,  Locke  shows  all  his  powers  of 
close  deduction  and  accurate  observation.  His  object  was  to 
give  a  rational  and  clear  account  of  the  nature  of  the  human 
mind,  of  the  real  character  of  our  ideas,  and  of  the  mode  in 
which  they  are  presented  to  the  consciousness.  Locke  is 
eminently  an  inductive  reasoner,  and  was  the  first  to  apply  the 
method  of  experiment  and  observation  to  the  obscure  phenom- 
ena of  the  mental  operations ;  and  he  is  thus  to  be  regarded  as  the 
most  illustrious  disciple  of  Bacon.  The  most  striking  feature 
in  this,  as  in  all  Locke's  philosophical  works,  is  the  extreme 
clearness,  plainness,  and  simplicity  of  his  language,  which  is 
always  such  as  to  be  intelligible  to  an  ordinary  understanding. 

310.  The  Essay  on  Education  has,  like  the  book  just  examined, 
a  practical  tendency,  and  may  be  said  to  have  mainly  contributed 
to  bring  about  that  beneficial  revolution  which  has  taken  place 
in  the  training  of  the  young.     Much  of  what  is  humane  and 
philosophical   in   Rousseau's   celebrated  Emile  is   plainly  bor- 
rowed from  Locke,  who  is  not  responsible  for  the  absurdities 
and  extravagances  engrafted  upon  his  plans  by  the  Genevese 
theorist.     His  treatise   On  the  Reasonableness  of  Christianity  is 
distinguished  by  calm  piety  and  benevolence ;  and  a  small  but 
admirable   little  book    On  the   Conduct  of  the    Understanding, 
which  was  not  published  until  after  the  author's  death,  contains 
a  kind  of  manual  of  reflections  upon  all  those  natural  defects  or 
acquired  evil  habits  of  the  mind,  which  unfit  it  for  the  task  of 
gaining  and  retaining  knowledge. 

311.  To  this  period  belongs  a  series  of  excellent  writers  who 
will  always  retain  the  place  of  classics  in  English   prose,  and 
who  are  equally  worthy  of  admiration  as  Protestant  theologians 
and  as  models  of  logical  and  persuasive  eloquence.     At  the  head 
of  them  stands  ISAAC  BARROW  (1630-1677),  a  man  of  almost 
universal  acquirements,  whose  sermons  are  still  studied  as  the 
most  powerful  and  majestic  prose  compositions  that  the  seven- 
teenth century  produced.     He  was  born  in  1630,  educated  at  the 
Charter-house,  whence  he  passed  to  Trinity  College,  Cambridge, 
of  which  he  was  one  of  the  most  illustrious  alumni.     Of  his 
personal  courage  he  gave  a  striking  proof  in  a  sea-fight  against 
an  Algerine  pirate,  when  returning  from  his  travels  in  the  East. 
At  the  University  his   studies   seem   to   have  embraced  every 


A.  D. -1630-1677.         ISAAC  BARROW.  177 

branch  of  knowledge  —  not  only  philology,  but  all  the  range  of 
the  mathematical  sciences,  together  with  Anatomy,  Chemistry, 
and  Botany.  After  some  time  he  travelled  through  the  greater 
part  of  Europe  to  the  East,  returning  home  by  way  of  Germany 
and  Holland  in  1659.  On  his  return  he  was  appointed  Profes- 
sor of  Greek  at  Cambridge,  to  which  he  added  the  chair  of 
Geometry  in  Gresham  College,  and  afterwards  the  Lucasian 
professorship  of  Mathematics  in  the  University.  He  was  one 
of  the  ablest  and  profoundest  mathematicians  of  his  day,  and 
cultivated  with  distinguished  success  those  same  departments  of 
science  in  which  his  illustrious  pupil  and  successor,  Newton, 
gained  his  undying  glory —  as  Optics,  Mechanics,  and  Astrono- 
my. Newton  was,  indeed,  a  pupil  of  Barrow,  who  warmly  ap- 
preciated and  befriended  him;  and  it  was  to  Newton  that  he 
resigned  his  Lucasian  professorship.  He  had  already  taken 
orders,  and  his  sermons,  many  of  which  were  preached  in  Lon- 
don, now  became  famous.  He  was  named  one  of  the  King's 
chaplains,  and  in  1672  was  elected  Master  of  Trinity  College ; 
and  having  in  his  turn  filled  the  high  office  of  Vice-Chancellor 
of  the  University,  he  died  of  a  fever  at  the  early  age  of  forty-six, 
in  1677.  (162} 

312.  Barrow's  pulpit  orations  are  not  only  filled  and  almost 
overladen  with  thought,  so 'that  even  the  most  powerful  intellect 
must  use  all  its  force  and  employ  all  its  attention  to  follow  his 
reasoning,  but  they  were,  as  compositions,  elaborated  with  the 
greatest  care,  and  revised  and  rewritten  with  scrupulous  anxiety 
before  he  was  satisfied  with  his  work.  His  sermons  are  numer- 
ous ;  and  many  of  the  most  valuable  of  them  form  series,  de- 
voted to  the  exhaustive  explanation  of  some  particular  depart- 
ment of  religious  knowledge  or  belief:  thus  there  is  an  excellent 
series  of  discourses  commenting  upon  the  Lord's  Prayer,  which 
is  anatomized,  clause  by  clause ;  each  article  forming  the  text 
of  a  separate  discourse.  A  similar  set  of  sermons  is  devoted  to 
the  Creed,  another  to  the  Decalogue,  another  to  the  Sacraments, 
and  so  on.  The  predominant  quality  of  Barrow's  style  is  a 
weighty  majesty  of  thought  and  diction ;  every  line  that  he  pro- 
duced bears  a  peculiar  stamp  of  unconscious  power  —  the  vigor 
of  a  mind  to  wrhich  no  subtilty  was  too  arduous,  no  deduction 
too  obscure.  There  is  perhaps  no  English  prose-writer,  the 
study  of  whose  works  would  be  more  invigorating  to  the  mind, 
and  more  adapted  to  the  formation  of  a  pure  taste,  than  Bar* 


173  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.        CHAP.  XVII. 

row;  nor  can  there  be  a  better  proof  that  the  most  capable 
critics  have  agreed  in  this  opinion,  than  the  fact  that  Chatham 
recommended  Barrow  to  his  son  as  the  finest  model  of  elo- 
quence, and  the  accomplished  Landor  has  not  hesitated  to 
place  him  above  all  the  greatest  of  the  ancient  thinkers  and 
philosophers. 

313.  JOHN  PEARSON  (1613-1686),  originally  Professor  of  The- 
ology and  Master  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  and  afterwards 
Bishop   of  Chester,   is   a  theologian  of  great  merit.     His  most 
celebrated  work   is  his  Exposition  of  the   Creed,  which  is  still 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  complete  and  searching  treatises 
investigating   the    great   fundamental    principles    of   our   faith. 
But   next  after  Barrow,  JOHN  TILLOTSON  (1630-1694)  perhaps 
enjoys  the  highest  and  most  durable  popularity  among  the  pul- 
pit orators  of  this  time ;  though  he  was  a  man  of  a  calibre  far 
inferior  to  Barrow.  (163)     He  studied  at  Cambridge,  where  he 
at  first  rendered  himself  conspicuous  for  his  decided  Puritan 
sympathies.      He,   however,    afterwards   made   no   difficulty  in 
conforming  to  the  rules  and  discipline  of  the  Anglican  Church, 
and  ultimately,  in  the  reign  of  William  and  Mary,  rose  to  the 
dignity  of  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.     He  was  a  person  of  easy, 
good-natured,  and-amiable  character;  as  a  pastor  and  as  a  prel- 
ate he  exhibited  much  zeal  in  correcting  the  abuses  which  had 
crept  into  the  Church,  and  gave  a  notable  example  of  liberal 
charity  and  episcopal  virtue.     He  was  renowned  as  a  preacher; 
and  his  sermons,  though  falling  far  short  of  Barrow's  in  grasp 
of  mind  and  vigor  of  expression,  are  precisely  of  such  a  nature 
as  is  most  likely  to  command  popularity.     But  it  was  not  to  the 
mere  vulgar  that  Tillotson  commended  himself.     Dryden  did 
not  hesitate  to  own  that  his  own  prose  style  was  formed  after 
Tillotson's.     "If  I  have  any  talent  for  English,"  he  said,  "  it  is 
owing  to  my  having  often  read  the  writings  of  the  Archbishop 
Tillotson." 

314.  ROBERT  SOUTH  (1633-1716)  enjoyed  in  his  day  the  repu- 
tation of  being  the  "wittiest  Churchman  "  of  the  time.    Though 
he  wrote,  when  at  Oxford,  a  copy  of  Latin  verses  congratulating 
Cromwell  upon  having  made  peace  with  the  Dutch,  he  had  em- 
braced even  then  the  extreme  Tory  opinions  prevalent  in  that 
University,  where  he  filled  the  post  of  Public  Orator.     He  often 
preached  before  Charles  II.,   and  was   much    admired   by  the 
courtly  audiences  of  those  days  for  the  animation  and  even  gay 


A.  D.  1635-1672.     STILL  IN  GFLEET.     WILKINS.          179 

ety  of  his  manner,  and  the  pleasant  stories  and  repartees  which 
he  sometimes  introduced  into  his  sermons.  The  gross  adulation 
with  which  he  was  not  ashamed  to  address  Charles  II.,  and  in 
which  he  lauded  the  virtues  of  Charles  I.,  and  his  unmeasured 
denunciations  of  the  principles  and  convictions  of  the  popular 
party,  have  deservedly  laid  South  open  to  the  attacks  of  the  op- 
posite side  in  politics  and  religion ;  but  there  is  no  reason  to 
question  his  sincerity.  It  is  of  more  importance  to  our  purpose 
to  remark  that  he  was  a  perfect  master  of  English  prose,  and 
that  his  style  combines  ease,  vigor,  and  rhythm,  beyond  that  of 
any  of  his  contemporaries.  (J6'4) 

315.  Our  limited  space  will  not  permit  us  to  do  more  than 
mention  the  names  of  EDWARD  STILLINGFLEET  (1635-1699),  and 
WILLIAM  SHERLOCK  (1641-1707)  ;  the  first  a  celebrated  contro- 
versialist, the  victorious  adversary  of  Dryden,  but  the  defeated 
assailant  of  Locke;  the  second,  author  of  a  Practical  Discourse 
Concerning  Death,  still  in  some  repute.  (_Z(>«5) 

310.  THOMAS  SPRAT  (1636-1716),  Bishop  of  Rochester,  was  a 
man  renowned  in  his  time  for  the  brilliancy  and  variety  of  his 
talents.  He  was  an  ardent  cultivator  of  physical  science ;  and 
was  one  of  the  members  of  the  Royal  Society,  then  recently 
founded.  He  was  distinguished  as  a  poet,  though  his  writings 
in  this  department  are  now  little  read;  and  as  a  biographer  of 
poets  was  the  author  of  an  excellent  and  interesting  Life  of 
Cowley.  Besides  these  he  was  a  theologian  and  preacher  of  no 
mean  ability,  and  a  very  active  contributor  to  the  polemical  and 
political  literature  of  his  day. 

317.  There    are  few  episodes  in  the  history  of  human  knowl- 
edge more   surprising  than   the   sudden  and  dazzling  progress 
made  in  the  physical  sciences  towards  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century;  which  was  mainly  due  to  the  vivifying  effect  produced 
by  the  writings  and  the  method  of  Bacon.     A  very  prominent 
part  in    this    great   movement,   especially   in   the    branches    of 
physics  and  natural  history,  was  played  by  the  Royal  Society; 
that  illustrious  body  which,  originating  in  the  meetings  of  a  few 
learned  and  ingenious  men  at  each  other's  houses,  was  incorpo- 
rated by  Charles  II.  in   1662    into  the  Society  to  the  labors  of 
which  human  knowledge  owes  so  much. 

318.  Among  its  founders  one  of  the  most  active  was  DR.  JOHN 
WILKINS  (1614-1672),  Bishop  of  Chester,  a  most  energetic  and 
ingenious  man,  whose  vivacious  inventiveness  sometimes  bor- 


180  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.        CHAP.  XVII. 

dered  upon  extravagance  ;  but  who  rendered  great  services,  both 
in  his  writings  and  his  conversation,  to  the  cause  of  science. 
His  principal  contribution  to  literature  is  An  Essay  towards  a 
Real  Character  and  a  Philosophical  Language,  which  was  print- 
ed in  1668.  He  was  a  theological  writer  and  a  preacher  of  high 
reputation;  but  his  name  is  now  chiefly  associated  with  his  proj- 
ects and  inventions,  and  in  particular  with  the  prominent  part 
he  took,  together  with  Boyle  and  others,  in  the  organization  of 
the  Royal  Society.  He  married  the  sister  of  Oliver  Cromwell; 
and  his  stepdaughter  was  married  to  Tillotson. 

319.  SIR  ISAAC  NEWTON  (1642-1727)  was  born  in  1642,  of  a  re- 
spectable but  not  opulent  family,  at  Woolsthorpe,  in  Lincoln- 
shire. From  his  earliest  boyhood  he  showed  the  greatest  taste 
and  aptitude  for  mechanical  invention  ;  and  entering  the  Univer- 
sity of  Cambridge  in  1660,  he  made  such  rapid  progress  in  math- 
ematical studies  that  in  nine  years  Barrow  resigned  in  his  favor 
the  Lucasian  professorship.  The  greater  part  of  Newton's  life 
was  passed  within  the  quiet  walls  of  Trinity,  of  which  College 
he  is  the  most  glorious  ornament;  and  it  was  here  that  he  elab- 
orated those  admirable  discoveries  and  demonstrations  in  Me- 
chanics, Astronomy,  and  Optics,  which  have  placed  his  name  in 
the  very  foremost  rank  of  the  benefactors  of  mankind.  He  sat 
in  more  than  one  parliament  as  member  for  his  university;  but 
he  appears  to  have  been  of  too  reserved  and  retiring  a  character 
to  take  an  active  part  in  political  discussion ;  he  was  appointed 
Master  of  the  Mint  in  1695,  and  presided  over  that  establish- 
ment at  the  critical  period  of  Montagu's  bold  recall  and  reissue 
of  the  specie.  He  then  promptly  abandoned  all  those  sublime 
researches  in  which  he  stands  almost  alone  among  mankind,  and 
devoted  all  his  energy  and  attention  to  the  public  duties  that  had 
been  committed  to  his  charge.  In  1703  he  was  made  president 
of  the  Royal  Society,  and  knighted  two  years  afterwards  by 
Queen  Anne.  He  died  in  1727.  His  character,  the  only  defect 
of  which  appears  to  have  been  a  somewhat  cold  and  suspicious 
temper,  was  the  type  of  those  virtues  which  ought  to  distinguish 
the  scholar,  the  philosopher,  and  the  patriot.  His  modesty  was 
as  great  as  his  genius;  and  he  invariably  ascribed  the  attain- 
ment of  his  discoveries  rather  to  patient  attention  than  to  any 
unusual  capacity  of  intellect.  His  English  writings,  which  are 
chiefly  discourses  upon  the  prophecies  and  chronology  of  the 
Scriptures,  are  composed  in  a  rnanly,  plain,  and  unaffected  style, 


A.  D.  1628-1715.    JOHN  EAT.   GILBERT  BURNET.    181 

and  breathe  an  intense  spirit  of  piety ;  though  his  opinions  seem 
to  have  in  some  measure  inclined  towards  the  Unitarian  type  of 
theology.  His  glory,  however,  will  always  mainly  rest  upon  his 
purely  scientific  works,  the  chief  of  which  are  so  well  known 
that  it  is  almost  superfluous  to  enumerate  them,  the  Philosophic^ 
Naturalis  Principia  Mathcmatica  ;  and  the  invaluable  treatise 
on  Optics,  of  which  latter  science  he  may  be  said  to  have  first 
laid  the  foundation.  (169} 

320.  JOHN  RAY  (1628-1705),  together  with  Derham  and  Wil- 
loughby,  combined  the  descriptive  department  of  Natural  His- 
tory with  moral  and  religious  eloquence  of  a  high  order;  they 
seem  never  to  be  weary  of  proclaiming  the  wisdom  and  good- 
ness of  that  Providence  whose  works  they  had  so  attentively 
studied.  (154i)     Ray  was  the  first  who  elevated  Natural  History 
to  the  rank  of  a  science.     ROBERT  BOYLE  (1627-1691)  was  an 
able  writer  as  well  as  a  distinguished  philosopher.  (166)     "  No 
Englishman  of  the  seventeenth  century,  after  Lord  Bacon,"  ob- 
serves Mr.  Hallam,  "raised  to  himself  so  high  a  reputation  in 
experimental  philosophy  as  Robert  Boyle ;  it  has  ever  been  re- 
marked that  he  was  born  in  the  year  of  Bacon's  death,  as  the 
person  destined  by  nature  to  succeed  him.    .    .    .    His  works  oc- 
cupy six  large  volumes  in  quarto.     They  may  be  divided  into 
theological  or  metaphysical,  and  physical  or  experimental.     The 
metaphysical    treatises,  to  use   that  word  in  a  large  sense,  of 
Boyle,  or  rather  those  concerning  Natural  Theology,  are  very 
perspicuous,  very  free  from  system,  and  such  as  bespeak  an  in- 
dependent lover  of  truth." 

321.  One  of  the  most  extraordinary  writers  of  this  period  —  at 
least    in    a     purely     literary     sense  —  was     THOMAS     BURNET 
(I^35-i7i5))  Master  of  the  Charter-house,  author  of  the  eloquent 
and  poetic  declamation  Tclluris  Theoria  Sacra,  a  work  written 
in  both  Latin  and  English,  and  giving  a  hypothetical  account  of 
the  causes  which  produced  the  various  irregularities  and  undula- 
tions which  we  see  in  the  earth's  surface.     The  geological  and 
physical  theories  of  Burnet  are   fantastic  in  the  extreme ;  but 
the  pictures  which  he  has  drawn  of  the  devastation  caused  by  the 
great  unbridled  powers  of  Nature  are  grand  and  magnificent, 
and  give  Burnet  a  claim  to  be  placed  among  the  most  eloquent 
and  poetical  of  prose-writers. 

322.  This  writer  must  not  be  confounded  with  GILBERT  BUR- 
NET  (16^3-1715),  born  in  Edinburgh  in  1643,  who  was  one  of 


182  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.        CHAP.  XVII. 

the  most  active  politicians  and  divines  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  seventeenth  century.  (J6*£)  By  birth  and  personal  predilec- 
tions he  occupies  a  middle  space  between  the  extreme  Episco- 
palian and  Presbyterian  parties  ;  and  though  a  man  of  ardent  and 
busy  character,  he  was  possessed  of  rare  tolerance  and  candor. 
He  was  much  celebrated  for  his  talents  as  an  extempore  preacher, 
and  was  the  author  of  a  very  large  number  of  theological  and 
political  writings.  Among  these  his  History  of  the  Reformation 
is  still  considered  as  one  of  the  most  valuable  accounts  of  that 
important  revolution.  The  first  volume  of  this  was  published 
in  1679,  and  tne  last  in  I7I4-  He  also  gave  to  the  world  an  ac- 
count of  the  Life  and  Death  of  the  witty  and  infamous  Roch- 
ester, whose  last  moments  he  attended  as  a  religious  adviser, 
and  whom  his  pious  arguments  recalled  to  a  sense  of  repentance. 
He  at  one  time  enjoyed  the  favor  of  Charles  II.,  but.  soon  for- 
feited it  by  the  boldness  of  his  remonstrances  against  the  profli- 
gacy of  the  king,  and  by  his  defence  of  Lord  William  Russell. 
Burnet  also  published  an  Exposition  of  the  XXXIX.  Articles. 
On  falling  into  disgrace  at  Court  he  travelled  on  the  Continent; 
and  afterwards  attached  himself  close-ly  to  the  service  of  William 
of  Orange  at  the  Hague,  where  he  became  the  religious  adviser 
of  the  Princess  Mary,  afterwards  Queen.  At  the  Revolution, 
Burnet  accompanied  the  deliverer  on  his  expedition  to  England, 
took  a  very  active  part  in  controversy  and  political  negotiation, 
and  was  raised  to  the  Bishopric  of  Salisbury,  in  which  function 
".ie  gave  a  noble  example  of  the  zeal,  tolerance,  and  humanity 
which  ought  to  be  the  chief  virtues  of  a  Christian  pastor.  He 
died  in  1715,  leaving  the  MS.  of  his  most  important  work,  the 
History  of  My  Ozvn  Times,  which  he  directed  to  be  published 
after  the  lapse  of  six  years.  This  work,  consisting  of  Memoirs 
of  the  important  transactions  of  which  Burnet  had  been  contem- 
porary, is  of  a  similar  nature  and  not  inferior  value  to  Claren- 
don's, which  represents  the  events  of  English  history  from  a 
nearly  opposite  point  of  view.  Burnet  is  minute,  familiar,  and 
gossiping,  but  lively  and  trustworthy  in  the  main  as  to  facts; 
and  no  one  who  desires  to  make  acquaintance  with  a  very  criti- 
cal and  agitated  period  of  our  annals  can  dispense  with  the 
materials  he  has  accumulated. 


A.  D.  1688-1744.      ALEXANDER  POPE.  183 


CHAPTER  ,X  VIII. 

THE    SO-CALLED    AUGUSTAN   POETS. 

323.  SENSE,  vigor,  harmony,  and  a  kind  of  careless  yet  majes- 
tic regularity,  were  the  characteristics  of  that  powerful  school 
of  poetry  which  was  introduced  into  England  at  the  Restoration, 
and  of  which  Dryden  is  the  most  eminent  type.  These  qualities 
were,  in  the  so-called  Augustan  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  succeeded 
by  a  still  higher  polish,  and  an  elegance  sometimes  degenerating 
into  effeminacy.  Far  above  all  the  poets  of  this  epoch  shines 
the  brilliant  name  of  ALEXANDER  POPE  (1688-1744).  He  was 
born  in  London  of  a  respectable  Catholic  family  of  good  de- 
scent, in  1688.  His  father  had  been  engaged  in  trade  as  a  linen- 
draper,  and  had  retired  to  a  pleasant  country  house  at  Binfield, 
near  Windsor;  so  that  the  childish  imagination  of  the  future 
poet  imbibed  impressions  of  rural  beauty  from  the  lovely  scenerv 
_of  the  Forest.  (17O-173*)  The  boy  was  of  almost  dwarfish 
stature,  and  so  deformed  that  his  after  life  was  "one  long  dis 
ease."  He  exhibited  an  extraordinary  precocity  of  intellect;  "I 
lisped  in  numbers,  for  the  numbers  came,"  he  says  of  himself; 
and  his  earliest  attempts  at  poetry  were  made  when  very  young. 
His  father  had  acquired  a  competent  fortune,  which  enabled  the 
boy-poet  to  indulge  that  taste  for  study  and  poetical  reading 
which  continued  to  be  the  passion  of  his  life.  At  sixteen  he 
commenced  his  literary  career  by  composing  a  collection  of  Pas- 
torals, and  by  translating  portions  of  Statius,  which  were  pub- 
lished in  1709.  From  this  period  his  activity  was  unremitting; 
and  an  uninterrupted  succession  of  works,  equally  varied  in  their 
subjects  and  exquisite  in  their  finish,  placed  him  at  the  head  of 
the  poets  of  his  age,.  His  Essay  on  Criticism,  (Jf  70)  published 
in  1711,  and  highly  praised  by  Addison,  was  perhaps  the  first 
poem  that  fixed  his  -reputation,  and'gave  him  a  foretaste  of  that 
immense  popularity  which  he  enjoyed  during  his  whole  life.  It 
is  to  this  period  of  his  career  that  we  must  ascribe  the  concep- 
tion .and  first  sketch  of  the  most  charming  production  not  only 


184  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.      CHAP.  XVIII. 

of  Pope,  but  of  the  century  in  which  he  lived ;  a  perfect  gem,  or 
masterpiece,  equally  felicitous  in  its  plan  and  in  its  execution. 
This  was  the  mock-heroic  poem  The  Rape  of  the  Lock,  (172) 
justly  described  by  Addison  as  "  merum  sal,  a  delicious  little; 
thing,"  which  is  the  victorious  rival  of  Boileau's  Lutrin,  and  is 
indeed  incomparably  superior  to  every  heroic-comic  composition 
that  the  world  has  hitherto  seen.  In  1713  appeared  his  pastoral 
eclogues  entitled  Windsor  Forest,  in  which  beauty  of  versifica- 
tion and  neatness  of  diction  do  all  they  can  to  compensate  for 
the  absence  of  that  deep  feeling  for  nature  which  the  poetry  of 
the  eighteenth  century  did  not  possess.  The  plan  of  this  work 
is  principally  borrowed  from  Denham's  Cooper's  Hill.  In  1715 
he  published  several  modernized  versions  from  Chaucer,  as  if 
he  were  desirous  in  all  things  to  parallel  his  great  master  Dryden. 
These  consist  of  the  not  over  moral  story  of  January  and  May, 
which  is  in  substance  the  Merchant's  Tale,  and  The  Prologiie  to 
the  Wife  of  Bath's  Tale.  The  Temple  of  Fame  is  an  imitation 
of  the  same  poet's  House  of  Fame. 

324.  At  this  time,  too,  Pope  undertook  the  laborious  enter- 
prise of  translating  into  English  verse  the  Iliad  and  the  Odyssey. 
The  work  was  to  be  published  by  subscription ;  and  Pope  was  at 
first  reduced  almost  to  despair  when  brought  face  to  face  with 
the  vastness  of  his  undertaking:  but  with  practice  came  facility, 
and  the  whole  of  the  Iliad  was  successfully  given  to  the  world 
by  the  year  1720.    In  a  pecuniary  sense  this  was  a  most  success- 
ful venture ;  Pope  thereby  laid  the  foundation  of  that  compe- 
tence which  he  enjoyed  with  good  sense  and  moderation.     The 
Odyssey  did  not  appear  till  five  years  later;  and  of  this  he  him- 
self translated  only  twelve  of  the  twenty- four  books,  employing 
for  the  remaining  half  the  assistance  of  the  respectable  contem- 
porary poets  WILLIAM  BROOME  (1689-1745)  and  ELIJAH  FENTON 
(1683-1730),  to  whom  he  paid  a  proportionable  share  of  the  pro- 
ceeds.   Mechanically  this  translation  is  far  from  unfaithful ;  but 
in  the  spirit,  the  atmosphere,  so  to  say,  of  the  original,  the  bal- 
lad-like version  of  Chapman  is  far  superior.    Bentley's  criticism 
is,  after  all,  the  best  and  most  comprehensive  that  has  yet  been 
made  on  this  work:  "it  is  a  pretty  poem,  Mr.  Pope,  but  jrou 
must  not  call  it  Homer."     It  will  nevertheless  be  always  re- 
garded as  a  noble  monument  of  our  national  literature. 

325.  Other  compositions  of  Pope  belonging  to  this  early  period 
of  his  life,  are  the  Elegy  on  an  Unfortunate  Lady,  the  Epistle 


A.  D.  1688-1744.      ALEXANDER  POPE.  185 

from  Sappho  to  Phaon,  borrowed  from  the  Hcro'idcs  of  Ovid, 
and  the  Epistle  of  Eloisa  to  Abelard,  a  poem  on  a  similar  plan, 
but  taking  its  subject  from  the  romantic  and  touching  story  of 
mediaeval  times.  These  works,  though  somewhat  artificial,  ex- 
press a  passion  so  intense,  and  are  illustrated  with  such  beautiful 
imagery,  that  they  will  ever  be  considered  masterpieces.  During 
this  part  of  his  life  Pope  was  living,  with  his  father  and  mother, 
to  whom  he  always  showed  the  tenderest  affection,  at  Chiswick; 
but  on  the  death  of  the  former  parent  he  removed  with  his  mother 
to  a  villa  he  had  purchased  at  Twickenham,  on  a  most  beautiful 
spot  on  the  banks,  of  the  Thames.  Here  he  passed  the  remainder 
of  his  life,  in  easy,  if  not  opulent  circumstances;  his  taste  for 
gardening,  and  his  grotto  and  quincunxes  in  which  he  delighted, 
amused  his  leisure ;  and  he  lived  in  familiar  intercourse  with 
almost  all  the  most  illustrious  statesmen,  orat6rs,  and  men  of 
letters-  of  his  day,  —  Swift,  Atterbury,  Bolingbroke,  Prior,  Gay, 
and  Arbuthnot.  In  1725  he  published  ^.n  Edition  of  Shakspeare, 
in  six  volumes,  in  the  compilation  of  which  he  exhibited  a  de- 
ficiency in  that  peculiar  kind  of  knowledge  which  is  absolutely 
indispensable  to  the  commentator  on  an  old  author.  This  work 
was  but  too  justly  criticised  by  Theobald  in  his  Shakspeare  Re- 
stored, an  offence  deeply  resented  by  the  sensitive  poet ;  and  we 
shall  see  by-and-by  how  savagely  he  revenged  himself.  During 
the  three  following  years  he  was  engaged,  together  with  Swift 
and  Arbuthnot,  in  composing  that  famous  collection  of  Miscel- 
lanies to  which  each  of  the  friends  contributed.  The  principal 
project  of  the  fellow-laborers  was  the  extensive  satire^on  the 
abuses  of  learning  and  the  extravagances  of  philosophy,  Entitled 
Memoirs  of  Martinus  Scriblcrus.  Pope's  admirable  satiric 
genius,  however,  would  seem  to  have  instantly  deserted  him 
when  he  abandoned  verse  for  prose;  and  perhaps,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  Arbuthnot's  inimitable  burlesque  History  of  John 
Bull,  these  Miscellanies  are  hardly  worthy  the  fame  of  their  au- 
thors. 

32G.  The  brilliant  success  of  Pope,  his  steady  popularity,  the 
tinge  of  vanity  and  malignity  in  his  disposition,  and,  above  all, 
the  supercilious  tone  in  which  he  speaks  of  the  struggles  of  lit- 
erary existence,  raised  around  him  a  swarm  of  enemies,  animated 
alike  by  envy  and  revenge.  Determining,  therefore,  to  inflict 
upon  these  gnats  and  mosquitos  of  the  press  a  memorable  cas- 
tigation,  he  composed  in  1726  the  satire  of  the  Dunciad,  the  pri- 


186  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.      CHAP.  XVIII. 

inarj  idea  of  which  mo y  have  been  suggested  by  Dryden's  Mao 
Fleckno,  but  which  is  incomparably  the  fiercest,  most  sweeping, 
and  most  powerful  literary  satire  that  exists  in  the  whole  range 
of  literature.  Most  of  the  persons  attacked  are  so  obscure  that 
their  names  are  now  rescued  from  oblivion  by  being  embalmed 
in  Pope's  satire;  but  in  the  latter  part  of  the  poem,  and  particu- 
larly in  the  portion  added  in  the  editions  of  1742  and  1743,  the 
poet  has  given  a  sketch  of  the  gradual  decline  of  taste  and  learn- 
ing in  Europe,  which  is  one  of  the  noblest  outbursts  of  his 
genius.  In  the  original  form  of  the  poem  the  palm  of  stupidity 
was  given  to  Theobald;  but  in  the  new  edition  of  1743  the  dis- 
tinction is  transferred  to  the  then  poet  laureate,  Colley  Gibber, 
an  actor,  manager,  and  dramatic  author  of  the  time,  who,  what- 
ever were  his  vices  and  frivolity,  certainly  was  in  no  sense  an 
appropriate  King  of  the  Dunces.  But  in  this,  as  in  numberless 
other  instances,  Pope's  bitterness  of  enmity  entirely  ran  away 
with  his  judgment. 

327.  In  the  four  years  extending  from  1731  to  1735  Pope  was 
engaged  in  the  composition  of  his  Epistles,  addressed  to  Bur- 
lington, Cobham,  Arbuthnot,  Bathurst,  and  other'distinguished 
men.     These  poems,  half  satirical  and  half  familiar,  were  in 
their  manner  a  reproduction   of  the  charming  productions  of 
Horace.     At  the  same  period  was  composed  the  Essay  on  Man, 
in  four  epistles,  addressed  to  Bolingbroke,  a  work  of  more  pre- 
tension, and  aim-ing  at  the  illustration  of  important  ethical  and 
metaphysical  principles.  (_Z7-1)     This  poem  is  an  incomparable 
example  of  the  highest  skill  in  the  art  of  so  treating  an  abstract 
philosophical  subject  as  to  render  it  neither  dry  nor  unpoetical. 
About  the  same  time  he  gave  to  the  world  his  highly-finished 
and  brilliant  Imitations  of  Horace,  in  which,  like  so  many  pre- 
vious writers  of  his  own  and  other  countries,  from  Bishop  Hall 
down  to  Boileau,  he  adapted  the  topics  of  the  Roman  satirist  to 
the  persons  and  vices  of  modern  times. 

328.  On  the  3oth  of  May,  1744,  this  great  poet  died,  unques- 
tionably the  most  illustrious  writer  of  his  age,  hardly  inferior  to 
Swift  in  the  vigor,  the  perfection,   and   the  originality  of   his 
genius.     As  a  man  he  was  a  strange  mixture  of  selfishness  and 
generosity,  malignity  and  tolerance  ;  he  had  a  peculiar  tendency 
to  indirect  and  cunning  courses ;  and  his  intense  literary  ambi- 
tion  sometimes    showed   itself   in  personal   and  sometimes  in 
literary  meannesses  and  jealousies.     Among  his  works  few  of 


A.  D.  1667-1745.      JONATHAN  SWIFT.  187 

any  importance  have  been  left  unnoticed.  We  should  perhaps 
mention  his  Eclogue  of  the  Messiah,  a  happy  adaptation  of  the 
Pollio  of  Virgil  to  a  sacred  subject,  the  Ode  on  St.  Cecilia' s  Day, 
in  which  he  was  bold  enough  to  try  his  strength  with  Dryden, 
and,  though  defeated,  yet  without  disgrace.  He  composed  a 
considerable  number  of  Epitaphs,  some  of  which  are  remark- 
able as  exemplifying  his  consummate  skill  in  the  art  of  paying 
a  compliment,  one  of  the  most  perfect  instances  of  which  is  in 
the  closing  lines  of  the  Epitaph  on  young  Harcourt.  But  per- 
haps the  most  inimitable  of  Pope's  productions  is  the  Rape  of 
the  Lock,  (172)  the  subject  of  which  is  the  rather  cavalier 
frolic  of  Lord  Petre,  a  man  of  fashion  at  the  court  of  Queen 
Anne,  in  cutting  off  a  lock  of  hair  from  the  head  of  Arabella 
Fermor,  a  beautiful  young  maid  of  honor.  This  incident  Pope 
treated  with  so  much  grace  and  delicate  mock-heroic  pleasantry, 
that  on  consulting  Addison  on  the  first  sketch  of  the  poem,  the 
latter  strongly  advised  him  to  refrain  from  altering  a  "  delicious 
little  thing,"  that  any  change  would  be  likely  to  spoil.  Pope, 
however,  fortunately  for  his  glory,  incorporated  into  his  poem 
the  delicious  supernatural  agency  of  the  Sylphs  and  Gnomes, 
beings  which  he  borrowed  from  the  Rosicrucian  philosophers ; 
the  action  of  which  miniature  divinities  is  exquisitely  propor- 
tioned to  the  frivolous  persons  and  events  of  the  poem. 

329.  The  most  original  genius  as  well  as  the  most  striking 
character  of  this  period  was  JONATHAN  SWIFT  (1667-1745),  who 
occupies  a  foremost  place  in  the  literary  and  political  history  of 
the  time.  (174-176)  He  was  born  in  Dublin,  in  1667,  of  Eng- 
lish family  and  descent;  but  his  father  having  died  in  embar- 
rassed circumstances,  Swift,  a  posthumous  child,  becam,e  a 
dependent  upon  the  charity  of  relations.  He  passed  three 
years  of  his  infancy  in  England,  and  was  afterwards  sent  to  a 
school  at  Kilkenny,  whence  he  proceeded,  in  1682,  to  Trinity 
College,  Dublin.  Here  he  occupied  himself  with  irregular  and 
desultory  study,  and  at  last  received  his  degree  with  the  unfavor- 
able notice  that  it  was  conferred  "  speciali  gratia,"  indicating 
that  his  conduct  had  not  satisfied  the  academical  authorities.  In 
1688  he  entered  the  household  of  Sir  William  Temple,  a  distant 
connection  of  his  family ;  in  whose  service  he  remained  as  secre- 
tary and  literary  subordinate  for  some  years.  Temple  was  fre- 
quently visited  and  consulted  by  King  William,  who  is  said  to  have 
offered  Swift  a  commission  in  a  troop  of  horse,  and  taught  him 


188  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.      CHAP.  XVIII. 

the  Dutch  way  of  cutting  and  eating  asparagus.  Swift's  residence 
at  Moor  Park  continued  down  to  Temple's  death  in  1699,  with, 
however  one  interruption  in  1694,  when  he  entered  into  holy  orders 
on  the  Irish  Church  establishment,  having  obtained  the  small  pre- 
ferment of  Kilroot.  This  temporary  absence  was  caused  by  a 
quarrel  with  his  patron,  whose  supercilious  condescension  his 
haughty  spirit  could  not  brook.  During  this  period  of  his  life 
he  was  industriously  employed  in  study;  and  steady  and  exten- 
sive reading  corrected  the  defects  of  his  earlier  education.  On 
Temple's  death  he  became  the  literary  executor  of  his  patron, 
and  prepared  for  the  press  the  numerous  works  he  left;  which 
he  presented,  with  a  preface  and  dedication  written  by  himself, 
to  William  III. 

330.  Failing  to  obtain  any  preferment  from  that  sovereign, 
Swift  went  to  Ireland  in  1699  as  chaplain  to  Earl  Berkeley,  the 
Viceroy;  and  received  the  small  livings  of  Laracor  and  Rath- 
beggan,  altogether  amounting  to  about  four  hundred  pounds  a 
year.     At  Laracor  he  lived  till  1710,  amusing  himself  with  gar- 
dening, and  with  repairing  his  church  and  parsonage,  and  mak- 
ing  yearly  visits   to  England,  where   he  became  the  familiar 
companion  of  the  most  illustrious  men  of  the  time,  —  Halifax, 
Godolphin,  Somers,  and  Addison.     His  connection  with  Wil- 
liam  III.   and  Temple,   as  well   as   the   predominance  at  that 
moment  of  Whig  policy,  naturally  caused  Swift  to  enter  public 
life  under  the  Whig  banner,  under  which  all  these  great  states- 
men fought.    And  itwas  in  the  interests  of  this  party  that  he  wrote 
his  first  work,  the  Dissensions  in  Athens  and  Rome,  a  political 
pamphlet  in  favor  of  the  Whig  ministers  who  were  impeached 
in  1701. 

331.  But  his  first  important  works  were  the  The  Battle  of  the 
Books  and  the   Tale  of  a   Tub,  which  were  published  in  1704. 
The  latter  is  a  savage  and  yet  exquisitely  humorous  pasquinade 
ridiculing  the  Roman  Catholics  and  Presbyterians,  and  for  the 
exaltation  of  the  High  Anglican  party,  the  three  churches  being 
impersonated  in  the  ludicrous  and  not  very  decorous  adventures 
of  his  three  heroes,  Peter,  Jack,  and  Martin.     The  Battle  of  the 
Books,  though  first  published  in  1703,  appears  to  have  been  writ- 
ten as  early  as  1697,  to  support  his  patron,  Sir  William  Temple, 
in  the  celebrated  Boyle  and  Bentley  controversy  on  the  letters 
of  Phalaris.      This   dispute,   originating  in   a  mere   personal 
squabble  with  Bentley  (who  had  been,  though  unjustly,  accused 


A.  D  1667-1745.      JONATHAN  SWIFT.  189 

of 'discourtesy  in  his  capacity  of  librarian  to  the  University  of 
Cambridge),  arose  out  of  the  then  violently-contested  question 
of  the  relative  superiority  of  the  Ancients  and  the  Moderns, 
which  was  first  started  in  England  by  Sir  William  Temple  in 
1692.  Swift  became  a  champion  of  the  Boyle  faction,  and  in  this 
work  gave  a  striking  foretaste  of  those  tremendous  powers  of 
sarcasm  and  vituperation  which  made  him  the  most  formidable 
pamphleteer  that  ever  existed. 

332.  But  his  advocacy  of  Whig  principles,  never  very  hearty, 
came  to  an  end  in  1710.     His  hopes  of  preferment  in  England 
were  not  fulfilled;  and  this  was  the  more  galling,  as  he  had  long 
regarded  Ireland  with  a  mixture  of  contempt  and  detestation, 
and  was  eager  to  escape  from  that  country  for  ever.  •  He  accord- 
inglv  unceremoniously  abandoned  his  former  party,  and  began 
to  write,  to  intrigue,   and  to  satirize,  with  even  greater  force, 
vehemence,  and  success,  on  the  side  of  the  Tories. 

333.  In  this  year,  too,  Harley,  afterwards  Earl  of  Oxford, 
and   St.  John,  better  known   as  the  brilliant  but  unprincipled 
Bolingbroke,   had  reached  the  head  of  affairs.     Swift  was  re- 
ceived with  open  arms;   he  became  more  useful  to  his  present 
than  he  had  ever  been  to  his  former  party,  and  was  caressed  and 
flattered   by  the  great,  the  fair,  the  witty,  and  the  wise.     He 
poured  forth  with  unexampled   rapidity  squib  after  squib   and 
pamphlet  after  pamphlet,  employing  all  the  stores  of  his  une- 
qualled fancy  and  powerful  sophistry  to  defend  his  party  and  to 
blacken  and  ridicule  his  antagonists.     The  great  object  of  his 
ambition  was    an  English  bishopric,   and  the   ministers  would 
have  been  willing  enough  to  gratify  him  ;  but  his  authorship  of 
the  Tale  of  a  Tub,  and  a  lampoon  of  his  on  the  Duchess  of  Som- 
erset, proved  fatal  to  him,  and  he  was  obliged  to  content  him- 
self with  the  deanery  of  St.  Patrick's,  Dublin,  to  which  he  was 
nominated,  to  his  extreme  disappointment,  in  1713.     This  was 
the  most  active  period  of  Swift's  life.     His  Public  Spirit  of  the 

Whigs,  his  Conduct  of  the  Allies,  and  his  Reflections  on  the  Bar- 
rier Treaty,  the  ablest  political  pamphlets  ever  written,  not  only 
reconciled  the  nation  to  the  peace  policy  of  the  Tory  ministry, 
but  also  kindled  a  feeling  of  enthusiasm  for  the  Tory  statesmen 
among  the  people.  Evil  days,  however,  were  at  hand.  Harley 
and  St.  John  tore  asunder  their  party  with  their  dissensions,  and, 
in  spite  of  all  Swift's  efforts,  the  breach  became  irremediable. 
St.  John,  combining  with  Mrs.  Masham,  the  Queen's  favorite, 


190  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.      CHAP.  XVIII. 

succeeded  in  turning  out  Harley.  But  his  triumph  was  short. 
The  death  of  Anne  and  the  accession  of  the  Elector  of  Hanover 
recalled  the  Whigs  to  power.  The  ministry  were  accused  of  a 
plot  for  bringing  back  the  Pretender;  Oxford  was  committed  to 
the  Tower ;  Bolingbroke  fled  beyond  the  sea ;  and  Swift  retired 
to  Ireland,  where  he  was  received  with  a  universal  yell  of  con- 
tempt and  execration. 

33-t.  From  1714  to  1726  Swift  resided  constantly  in  Ireland, 
and  from  being  an  object  of  detestation  raised  himself  to  a  height 
of  popularity  which  has  never  been  surpassed.  The  condition 
of  Ireland  was  just  then  unusually  deplorable;  the  manufactur- 
ing industry  and  the  commerce  of  the  country  were  paralyzed 
by  the  protective  statutes  of  the  English  Parliament;  while  the 
agricultural  classes  were  reduced  to  the  lowest  abyss  of  degrada- 
tion. In  a  pamphlet  recommending  to  the  Irish  the  use  of  their 
own  manufactures,  Swift  boldly  proclaimed  the  misery  of  the 
country;  and  his  force  and  bitterness  'Soon  drew  down  the  per- 
secution of  the  Ministers.  But  the  highest  point  of  Swift's  Irish 
popularity  was  attained  by  the  seven  famous  letters  which  he 
wrote  in  1724,  signed  M.  B.  Drapier  (draper),  and  inserted  in  a 
Dublin  newspaper.  The  occasion  was  the  attempt,  on  the  part 
of  the  English  ministry,  to  force  in  Ireland  the  circulation  of  a 
large  sum  of  copper  money,  the  contract  for  coining  which  had 
been  undertaken  by  William  Wood,  a  Birmingham  speculator. 
This  money  Swift  endeavored  to  persuade  the  people  was  enor- 
mously below  its  nominal  value;  and  he  counselled  all  true 
patriots  not  only  to  refuse  to  take  it,  but  to  refrain  from  using 
any  English  manufactures  whatever.  The  force  of  -his  argu- 
ments, and  the  skill  with  which  he  wore  his  mask  of  a  plain, 
honest  tradesman,  excited  the  impressionable  Irish  almost  to 
frenzy.  Swift  was  known  to  be  the  real  author  of  the  letters,  and 
his  defence  of  the  rights  of  the  Irish  people  made  him  from  this 
moment  the  idol  of  that  warm-hearted  race. 

335.  In  1726  Swift  once  more  visited  England  for  the  purpose 
of  bringing  out  his  famous  Gullivers  Travels,  (175)  which  at 
once  excited  a  universal  burst  of  delight  and  admiration.  The 
death  of  Stella,  one  of  the  few  beings  that  he  ever  really  loved, 
happened  in  1728;  and  the  loss  of  many  friends  further  con- 
tributed to  darken  and  intensify  the  gloom  of  this  proud  and 
sombre  spirit.  He  had  from  an  early  period  suffered  occasion- 
ally from  giddiness;  and  his  fearful  anticipations  of  insanity 


A.  D.  1GG7-1743.      JONATHAN  SWIFT.  191 

were  destined  to  be  cruelly  verified.  In  1741  he  was  afflicted 
with  a  painful  inflammation  which  necessitated  restraint,  and 
which  gradually  merged  into  a  state  of  idiocy  that  lasted  without 
interruption  till  his  death  in  1745.  He  is  buried  in  his  own 
cathedral  of  St.  Patrick's;  and  over  his  grave  is  inscribed  that 
terrible  epitaph  composed  by  himself,  in  which  he  speaks  of 
resting  "  ubi  sceva  indignatio  ulterius  cor  lacerare  nequit." 

3oG.  Any  account  of  Swift  would  be  imperfect  without  some 
mention  of  the  two  unhappy  women  whose  love  for  him  was  the 
glory  and  the  misery  of  their  lives.  While  residing  in  Temple's 
family  he  became  acquainted  with  Esther  Johnson,  a  beautiful 
young  girl,  brought  up  as  a  dependent  in  the  house,  to  whom, 
while  hardly  in  her  teens,  Swift  gave  instruction ;  and  the  bond 
between  master  and  pupil  ripened  into  the  deepest  and  tenderest 
passion  on  the  part  of  both.  On  his  removal  to  Ireland,  Swift 
induced  Stella  —  such  was  the  poetical  name  he  gave  her  —  to 
settle  with  her  friend  Mrs.  Dingley  in  that  country,  where  he 
maintained  with  both  of  them  that  long,  curious,  and  intimate 
correspondence  which  has  since  been  published  as  his  Journal 
to  Stella.  The  journal  is  full  of  the  most  affectionate  aspirations 
after  a  tranquil  retreat  in  the  society  of  "  little  M.  D. ;  "  and 
there  can  be  hardly  any  doubt  that  Swift  anticipated  marrying 
Stella,  while  Stella's  whole  life  was  filled  with  the  same  hope. 
During  one  of  his  visits  to  London,  Swift  became  intimate  with 
the  family  of  a  rich  merchant  named  Vanhomrigh,  whose  daugh- 
ter Hester,  to  whom  he  gave  the  name  of  Vanessa,  he  uncon- 
sciously succeeded  in  inspiring  with  a  deep  and  intense  passion, 
which  the  difference  of  age  only  makes  more  difficult  to  explain. 
On  the  death  of  her  father,  Miss  Vanhomrigh,  who  possessed  an 
independent  fortune,  retired  to  a  villa  at  Celbridge  in  Ireland, 
where  Swift  continued  his  visits,  but  without  clearing  up  to  one 
of  these  unhappy  ladies  the  nature  of  his  relations  with  the 
other.  At  last  Vanessa,  driven  almost  to  madness  by  suspense 
and  irritation,  wTrote  to  Stella  to  inquire  into  the  nature  of  Swift's 
position  with  regard  to  her.  The  letter  was  given  by  Stella  to 
Swift,  and  brought  back  by  him  and  thrown  down  without  a 
word,  but  with  a  terrible  countenance,  before  poor  Vanessa,  who 
died  a  few  weeks  afterwards  (1723).  Swift,  however,  was  already 
in  ail  probability  the  husband  of  Stella;  in  1716,  it  is  said,  the 
ceremony  of  marriage  was  privately  performed  in  the  garden  of 
the  Deanery,  though  Swift  never  either  recognized  her  in  public, 


I 

192  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.       CHAP.  XVIII. 

or  changed  his  strange  rule  of  never  living  in  the  same  house 
with  her,  or  even  seeing  her  otherwise  than  in  the  presence  of  a 
third  person. 

337.  The  greatest  and  most  characteristic  of  Swift's  prose 
works  is  the  Voyages  of  Gulliver,  (175}  a  vast  and  all  embra- 
cing satire  upon  humanity  itself,  though  many  of  the  strokes 
were  at  the  time  intended  to  allude  to  particular  persons  and 
contemporary  events.  This  admirable  fiction  consists  of  four 
parts  or  voyages  :  in  the  first  Gulliver  visits  the  country  of  Lilli- 
put,  whose  inhabitants  are  about  six  inches  in  stature,  and 
where  all  the  objects,  houses,  trees,  ships,  and  animals,  are  in 
exact  proportion  to  the  miniature  human  beings.  The  invention 
displayed  in  the  droll  and  surprising  incidents  is  as  unbounded 
as  the  natural  and  bona-fide  air  with  which  they  are  recounted; 
and  the  strange  scenes  and  adventures  are  recorded  with  an  air 
of  simple  straightforward  honesty  altogether  inimitable.  The 
second  vogage  is  to  Brobdingnag,  a  country  of  enormous  giants, 
about  sixty  feet  in  height;  and  here  Gulliver  plays  the  same  part 
as  the  pigmy  Lilliputians  had  played  to  him.  As  in  the  first 
voyage,  the  contemptible  and  ludicrous  side  of  human  things  is 
shown,  by  exhibiting  how  trifling  they  would  appear  in  almost 
misroscopic  proportions,  so  in  Brobdingnag  we  are  made  to 
perceive  how  odious  and  ridiculous  would  appear  our  politics, 
our  wars,  and  our  ambitions,  to  the  gigantic  perceptions  of  a 
more  mighty  race.  The  third  part  carries  Gulliver  to  a  series  of 
strange  and  fantastic  countries.  The  first  is  Laputa,  a  flying 
island,  inhabited  by  philosophers  and  astronomers;  whence  he 
passes  to  the  Academy  of  Lagado ;  thence  to  Glubbdubdrib  and 
Luggnagg;  which  latter  episode  introduces  the  terrific  descrip- 
tion of  the  Struldbrugs,  wretches  who  are  cursed  with  bodily  im- 
mortality without  preserving  at  the  same  time  their  intellects  or 
their  affections. 

338*.  Gulliver's  last  voyage  is  to  the  country  of  the  Houyhn- 
hnms,  a  region  in  which  horses  are  the  reasoning  beings ;  and 
where  men,  under  the  name  of  Yahoos,  are  degraded  to  the  rank 
of  noxious,  filthy,  and  unreasoning  brutes.  The  satire  goes  on 
deepening  as  it  advances;  playful  in  the  scenes  of  Lilliput,  it 
grows  bitterer  at  every  step,  till  in  the  Yahoos  it  reaches  a  pitch 
of  almost  insane  ferocity,  which  there  is  but  too  much  reason  to 
believe  faithfully  embodied  Swift's  real  opinion  of  his  fellow- 
creatures. 


A.  D.  1667-1745.      JONATHAN  SWIFT.  193 

339.  Besides  the  purely  political  pamphlets  already  mentioned, 
Swift  wrote  many  others  of  a  partly  religious  character,  such  as 
his  Sentiments  of  a  Church  of  England  Man,  his  remarks  on  the 
Sacramental    Test,    and   a    multitude   of  others,    which    being 
written  on  local  and  temporary  subjects,  are  now  little  consulted  ; 
but  they  all  exhibit  the  vigor  of  his  reasoning,  the  admirable 
force  and  directness  of  his  style,  and  his  unscrupulous  ferocity 
of  invective.     Of  all  his  occasional  productions  it  may  be  said, 
that  they  are   party  pamphlets  of  the   most  virulent  kind,   in 
which  the  author  was  never  restrained  by  any  feeling  of  his  own 
dignity,  or  of  candor  and  indulgence  for  others,  from  overwhelm- 
ing his  opponents  with  ridicule  and  abuse.    Many  of  his  smaller 
prose  writings  are  purely  satirical,  as  his  Polite  Conversation 
and  Directions  to  Servants.     In  the  former  he  has  combined  in 
a  sort  of  comic  manual  all  the  vulgar  repartees,  nauseous  jokes, 
and  selling  of  bargains,  that  were  at  that  time  common  in  smart 
conversation ;  and  in  the  latter,  under  the  guise  of  ironical  pre- 
cepts, he  shows  how  minute  and  penetrating  had  been  his  obser- 
vations of  the  lying,  pilfering,  and  dirty  practices  of  servants. 
Perhaps  the  pleasantest,  as  they  are  the  most  innocent,  of  his 
prose  pleasantries,  are  the  papers  written  in  the  character  of 
Isaac  Bickerstafif,  (174:}   where   he   shows   up,   with   exquisite 
drollery,  the  quackery  of  the  astrologer  Partridge.     His  letters 
are  very  numerous ;  and  those  addressed  to  his  intimate  friends, 
as  Pope   and  Gay,   and  those  written   to  Sheridan,  half-friend 
and   half-butt,    contain    inimitable   specimens   of   his   peculiar 
humor. 

340.  Swift  will  hot  only  be  ever  regarded  as  one  of  the  great- 
est  masters  of  English  prose,  but  his  poetical  works  will  give 
him  a  prominent  place  among  the  writers  of  his  age.     Yet  they 
have  no  pretension  to  loftiness  of  language,  but  are  written  in 
the  sermo  pedestris,  in  a  tone  studiously  preserving  the  familiar 
expression  of  common  life.     In  nearly  all  of  them  Swift  adopted 
the  short  octo-syllable  verse  that  Prior  and  Gay  had  rendered 
popular.     The  poems  show  the  same  wonderful  acquaintance 
with  ordinary  incidents  as  the  prose  compositions,  the  same  in- 
tense observation  of  human  nature,  and  the  same  profoundly 
misanthropic  view  of  mankind.     The  longest  of  the  narrative 
writings,  Cademis  (Decanus,  an  anagram  indicating  the  Dean 
himself)  and  Vanessa,  is  at  the  same  time  the  least  interesting. 
It  gives  an  account,  though  not  a  very  clear  one,  of  the  love- 


194  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.      CHAP.  XVIII. 

episode  which  terminated  so  fatally  for  poor  Hester  Vanhomrigh. 
The  most  likely  to  remain  popular  are  the  Verses  on  my  own 
Death,  describing  the  mode  in  which  that  event,  and  Swift's 
own  character,  would  be  discussed  among  his  friends,  his  ene- 
mies, and  his  acquaintances  j  and  perhaps  there  is  no  composi- 
tion in  the  world  which  gives  so  easy  and  animated  a  picture,  at 
once  satirical  and  true,  of  the  language  and  sentiments  of  ordi- 
nary society..  He  produced  an  infinity  of  small  pleasantries,  in 
prose  and  verse;  as,  for  example,  The  Grand  Question  Debated, 
in  which  he  has,  with  consummate  skill  and  humor,  adopted  the 
maundering  style  of  a  vulgar  servant-maid.  Many  of  his  verses 
are  slight  toys  of  the  fancy,  but  they  are  toys  executed  with  the 
greatest  perfection ;  and  in  some,  as  the  Legion  Club,  the  verses 
on  Bettesworth  and  on  Lord  Cutts,  the  ferocious  satire  of  Swift 
is  seen  in  its  full  intensity. 

341.  No  member  of  the  brilliant  society  of  which  Pope  and 
Swift  were  the  chief  luminaries,  deserves  more  respect,  both  for 
his  intellectual  and  personal'qualities,  than  DR.  JOHN  ARBUTH- 
NOT (1667-1735).  He  was  of  Scottish  origin,  and  enjoyed  high 
reputation  as  a  physician,  in  which  capacity  lie  remained  at- 
tached to  the  Court  from  1709  till  the  death  of  Queen  Anne, 
lie  is  supposed  to  have  conceived  the  plan  of  that  extensive 
satire  on  the  abuses  of  learning,  embodied  in  the  Memoirs  of 
Martinus  Scriblerus,  and  to  have  indeed  executed  the  best  por- 
tions of  that  work,  and  in  particular  the  description  of  the  pe- 
dantic education  given  to  his  son  by  the  learned  Cornelius.  It 
is  entirely  impossible,  however,  to  distinguish  between  the  dif- 
ferent contributions  of  the  brilliant  wits  who  formed  the  club. 
But  the  fame  of  Arbuthnot  is  more  "intimately  connected  with 
the  inimitable  History  of  John  Bull,  in  which  the  intrigues  and 
Wars  of  the  Succession  are  so  drolly  caricatured.  The  object  of 
the  work  was  to  render  the  prosecution  of  the  war  by  Marlborough 
unpopular  with  the  nation ;  but  the  adventures  of  Squire  South 
(Austria),  Lewis  Baboon  (France),  Nic.  Frog  (Holland), 'and 
Lord  Strutt  (the  King  of  Spain),  are  related  with  fun,  odd  hu- 
mor, and  familiar  vulgarity  of  language.  Arbuthnot  is  always 
good-natured;  and  he  shows  no  trace  of  that  fierce  bitterness 
and  misanthropy  which  tinges  every  page  of  Swift.  The  char- 
acters of  the  various  nations  and  parties  are  conceived  and  main  • 
tained  with  consummate  spirit;  and  perhaps  the  popular  ideal 
of  John  Bull,  with  which  Englishmen  are  so  fond  of  identifying 


A.  D.  1664-1721         MATTHEW  PRIOE.  195 

their  personal  and  national  peculiarities,  was  first  stamped  and 
fixed  by  Arbuthnot's  amusing  burlesque. 

342.  MATTHEW  PRIOR  (1664-1721)  was  a  poet  and  diploma- 
tist of  this  time,  who  played  a  prominent  part  on  the  stage  of 
politics  as  well  as  on  that  of  literature.  {177)  He  was  of  humble 
origin ;  but  by  the  generous  liberality  of  the  splendid  Dorset, 
he  was  enabled  to  pursue  his  studies  at  St.  John's  College,  Cam- 
bridge, where  he  distinguished  himself  and  obtained  a  small 
fellowship.  He  took  part  with  Charles  Montagu  in  the  compo- 
sition of  the  Country  Mouse  and  City  Mouse,  a  poem  intended 
to  ridicule  Dryden's  Hind  and  Panther  ;  and  the  door  of  public 
employment  was  soon  opened  to  him.  After  acting  as  Secre- 
tary of  Legation  at  the  Peace  of  Ryswick,  he  twice  resided  at 
Versailles  in  the  capacity  of  envoy,  and  by  his  talents  in  nego- 
tiation, as  well  as  by  his  wit  and  accomplishments  in  society, 
appears  to  have  been  very  popular  among  the  French.  On  re- 
turning to  England  he  was  made  a  Commissioner  of  Trade,  and 
in  1701  became  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons.  Though 
he  had  entered  public  life  as  a  partisan  of  the  Whigs,  he  now 
deserted  them  for  the  Tories,  on  the  occasion  of  the  impeach- 
ment of  Lord  Somers;  and  he  again  went  to  Paris,  where  he 
lived  in  great  splendor  during  the  negotiations  in  which  Boling- 
broke  acceded  to  the  disgraceful  Treaty  of  Utrecht.  In  1715  he 
was  ordered  into  custody  by  the  Whigs,  on  a  charge  of  high 
treason,  and  remained  two  years  in  confinement.  But  for  his 
College  Fellowship,  which  he  prudently  retained  throughout 
the  period  of  his  prosperity,  he  would  now  have  been  reduced 
to  entire  poverty.  Moreover,  with  the  assistance  of  his  friends, 
he  published  by  subscription  a  collection  of  his  works,  the  pro- 
ceeds of  which  amounted  to  a  considerable  sum.  His  longer 
and  more  ambitious  poems  are  Alma,  a  metaphysical  discussion 
carried  on  in  easy  Hudibrastic  verse,  exhibiting  a  good  deal  of 
thought  and  learning  disguised  under  an  easy  conversational 
garb,  and  the  Epic  entitled  Solomon,  a  poem  somewhat  in  the 
manner,  and  with  the  same  defects,  as  the  Davideis  of  Cowley. 
A  work  of  considerable  length,  and  ambitious  in  its  character, 
is  the  dialogue  entitled  Henry  and  Emma,  modernized,  and 
spoiled  in  the  modernizing,  from  the  exquisite  old  ballad  of  the 
Nutbro-ivne  Maide.  Prior's  claim  to  admiration  rests  mainly 
upon  his  easy,  animated,  half-tender,  half-libertine  love-songs, 
exhibiting  the  union  of  natural  though  not  profound  sentiment 
with  a  sort  of  philosophic  gayety. 


196  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.       CHAP.  XVIII. 

343.  JOHN  GAY  (1688-1732)  was  one  of  those  easy,  amiable, 
good-natured  men  who  are  the  darlings  of  their  friends,  and 
whose  talents  excite  admiration  without  jealousy,  while  their 
characters  are  the  object  rather  of  fondness  than  respect.  He 
entered  life  as  a  linendraper's  shopman,  but  soon  exchanged 
this  occupation  for  a  dependence  upon  the  great,  and  for  a  vain 
pining  after  public  employment,  for  which  his  indolent  and  self- 
indulgent  habits  rendered  him  singularly  unfit.  His  most  im- 
portant poetical  productions  at  the  beginning  of  his  career  were 
the  collection  of  Eclogues  entitled  The  Shepherd's  Week*,  origi- 
nally intended  as  a  parody  on  the  pastorals  of  Ambrose  Philips, 
and  the  original  and  charmingly  executed  mock-didactic  poem 
Trivia,  or  the  Art  of  Walking  the  Streets  of  London.  He  has 
shown  great  address  in  applying  the  topics  of  Theocritus  and 
Virgil  to  the  customs,  employments,  and  superstitions  of  Eng- 
lish peasants,  and  he  has  endeavored  to  heighten  the  effect  by 
the  occasional  employment  of  antiquated  and  provincial  expres- 
sions. The  Trivia  is  interesting,  not  only  for  its  ease  and  quiet 
humor,  but  for  the  curious  details  it  gives  us  of  the  street  sce- 
nery, costume,  and  manners  of  that  time.  Gay's  dramatic  pieces 
generally  contained,  or  were  supposed  to  contain,  occasional 
political  allusions,  the  piquancy  of  which  greatly  contributed  to 
their  popularity.  His  most  successful  venture  was  the  Beggars' 
Opera,  the  idea  of  which  is  said  to  have  been  first  suggested  by 
Swift  when  residing,  in  1726,  at  Pope's  villa  at  Twickenham. 
The  conception  is  eminently  happy  :  it  was  to  transfer  the  songs 
and  incidents  of  the  Italian  Opera  — then  almost  a  novelty  in 
England,  and  in  the  blaze  of  popularity  —  to  the  lowest  class  of 
English  life.  To  use  Swift's  expression,  it  was  a  kind  of  New- 
gate pastoral,  and  was  a  sort  of  parody  of  the  opera  then  in 
vogue,  while  it  became  the  origin  of  the  English  Opera.  It 
proved  an  unparalleled  success ;  and  Gay  acquired  from  the 
performance  of  his  piece  the  very  large  sum  of  nearly  seven 
hundred  pounds.  Encouraged  by  this  he  produced  a  kind  of 
continuation  called  Polly,  which,  though  far  inferior,  was  even 
more  profitable,  for  on  its  being  prohibited  by  the  Lord 
Chamberlain,  the  opposition  party  contributed  so  liberally  to 
its  publication  that  Gay  is  said  to  have  cleared  about  eleven 
hundred  pounds.  After  losing  the  bulk  of  his  property  in  the 
South  Sea  mania,  he  was  received  into  the  family  of  the  Duke 
and  Duchess  of  Queensberry,  where  he  remained  till  his  death 


A.  D.  1681-1765.          EDWARD   YOUNG.  197 

in  1732.  He  was  the  author  of  a  collection  of  Fables  in  easy 
octosyllable  verse,  written  to  contribute  to  the  education  of 
William  Duke  of  Cumberland,  which  still  retain  a  kind  of  pop- 
ularity from  their  figuring  in  every  collection  of  poetry  for  the 
young;  {178}  their  style  rendering  them  peculiarly  adapted  for 
reading  and  learning  by  heart.  Gay's  songs  and  ballads, 
whether  those  introduced  into  the  Beggars'  Ofera  and  other 
dramatic  works,  or  those  written  separately,  are  among  the 
most  musical,  touching,  playful,  and  charming,  that  exist  in  the 
language. 

344.  Our   space  will    only  permit  a  cursory  mention  of  SIR 
SAMUEL  GARTH  (died  in  1719),  a  Whig  physician  of  eminence, 
whose  poem  of  The  Dispensary,  written  on  occasion  of  a  squab- 
ble between  the  College  of  Physicians  and  the  Apothecaries' 
Company,  was  half  satirical  and  half  a  plea  in  favor  of  giving 
medical   assistance   to   the   poor;  of  THOMAS  PARNELL   (1679- 
1718),  a  friend  of  Pope  and  Swift,  (_/7#)  who  held  a  living  in 
Ireland,  and  is  known  chiefly  by  his  graceful  but  somewhat  fee- 
ble tale  of  The  Hermit,  a  versified  parable  founded  on  a  strik- 
ing story  originally  derived  from  the    Gesta  Romanorum ;  and 
of  THOMAS  TICKELL  (1686-1740),  celebrated  for  his  friendship 
with  the  accomplished  Addison,  whose  death  suggested  a  noble 
elegy,  the  only  work  of  Tickell  which  rises  above  the  elegant 
mediocrity  that  marks  the  general  tone  of  the  minor  poetry  of 
that  age. 

345.  EDWARD  YOUNG    (1681-1765)   began  his   career  in   the 
unsuccessful  pursuit   of  fortune   in  the  public  service.     Disap- 
pointed in  his  hopes  he  entered  the  church  :  and  serious  domes- 
tic losses  still  further  intensified   a  natural   tendency  to  morbid 
and  melancholy  reflection.     He  obtained  his  first  literary  fame 
by  his  satire  entitled  the  Love  of  Fame,  the  Universal  Passion, 
written  before  he  had  abandoned  a  secular  career.     But  Young's 
place  in  the  history  of  English  poetry  is  due  to  his  striking  and 
original  poem   The  Night   Thoughts.  {ISO)     This  work,   con- 
sisting of  nine  nights  of  meditations,  is  in  blank  verse,  and  is 
made  up  of  reflections  on  Life,  Death,  Immortality,  ar.d  all  the 
most   solemn    subjects   that  can   engage   the   attention   of  the 
Christian  and  the  philosopher.     The  general  tone  of  the  work 
is  sombre   and   gloomy,  perhaps   in   some  degree  affectedly  so ; 
for  the  author  perpetually  parades  the  melancholy  personal  cir- 
cumstances under  which  he  wrote,  overwhelmed  by  the  rapidly- 


198  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.      CHAP.  XVIII. 

succeeding  losses  of  many  who  were  dearest  to  him ;  and  the 
reader  can  never  get  rid  of  the  idea  that  the  grief  and  desola- 
tion were  purposely  exaggerated  for  effect.  The  epigrammatic 
nature  of  some  of  his  most  striking  images  is  best  testified  by 
the  large  number  of  expressions  which  have  passed  from  his 
writings  into  the  colloquial  language  of  society,  such  as  "  pro- 
crastination is  the  thief  of  time,"  "  all  men  think  all  men  mortal 
but  themselves,"  and  a  multitude  of  others. 

346.  The  poetry  of  the  Scottish  Lowlands  found  an  admirable 
representative  at  this  time  in  ALLAN  RAMSAY  (1686-1758),  born 
in  a  humble  class  of  life,  who  was  first  a  wigmaker,  and  after- 
wards a  bookseller  in  Edinburgh.  He  was  of  a  happy,  jovial, 
and  contented  humor,  and  rendered  great  services  to  the  litera- 
ture of  his  country  by  reviving  the  taste  for  the  excellent  old 
Scottish  poets,  and  by  editing  and  imitating  the  incomparable 
songs  and  ballads  current  among  the  people.  He  was  also 
the  author  of  an  original  pastoral  poem,  the  Gentle  (or  Noble) 
Shepherd,  which  grew  out  of  two  eclogues  he  had  written,  de- 
scriptive of  the  rural  life  and  scenery  of  Scotland.  The  complete 
work  appeared  in  1725,  and  consists  of  a  series  of  dialogues  in 
verse,  written  in  the  melodious  and  picturesque  dialect  of  the 
country,  and  interwoven  into  a  simple  but  interesting  love-story. 


A.D.  1672-1719.       JOSEPH  ADDISON.  %  199 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE    ESSAYISTS. 

347.  THE  class  of  writers  who  form  the  subject  of  this  chapter 
are  identified  with  the  creation  of  a  new  and  peculiar  form  of 
English  literature,  which  was  destined  to  exert  a  powerful  and 
most  beneficial  influence  on  the  manners  and  intellectual  de- 
velopment of  society.  The  mode  of  publication  was  periodical ; 
and  a  kind  of  journals  made  their  appearance,  many  of  them 
enjoying  an  immense  popularity,  combining  a  small  modicum  of 
public  news  with  a  species  of  short  essay  or  lively  dissertation  on 
some  subject  connected  with  morality  or  criticism,  and  incul- 
cating principles  of  virtue  in  great,  and  good  taste  and  politeness 
in  small  things.  The  first  establishment  of  the  periodical  essay 
is  due  to  Sir  Richard  Steele;  but  the  most  illustrious  repre- 
sentative of  this  department  of  literature  is  JOSEPH  ADDISON 
(1672-1719).  This  great  writer  and  excellent  man  was  the  son 
of  Lancelot  Addison,  a  divine  of  some  reputation  for  learning, 
and  was  born  in  1672.  (183-1S6)  He  was  educated  at  the 
Charter-house,  from  whence  he  passed  to  Queen's  and  ultimately 
to  Magdalen  College,  Oxford ;  and  here  he  distinguished  him- 
self by  the  regularity  of  his  conduct,  the  assiduity  of  his  appli- 
cation, and  his  exquisite  taste  in  Latin  verse.  His  first  essays  in 
English  verse,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  were  some  lines  in 
praise  of  Dryden,  followed  by  a  eulogistic  poem  on  the  King 
(William  III.).  Addison  continued  his  trial-flight,  under  Dry- 
den's  wing,  translating  the  greater  part  of  the  IVth  Georgic  of 
Virgil.  Lord  Somers  procured  for  the  rising  neophyte  a  pension 
of  three  hundred  pounds,  which  enabled  him  to  travel  in  France 
and  Italy;  but  the  death  of  King  William  having  deprived  him 
of  his  pension,  he  returned  t;o  England ;  and  he  passed  some 
time  in  London,  very  poor  in  purse,  but  exhibiting  that  dignified 
patience  and  quiet  reserve  which  made  his  character  so  estimable. 
But  his  period  of  obscuration  was  very  brief.  In  1704  the  great 
Marlborough  won  the  memorable  victory  of  Blenheim ;  Godol- 


200  'ENGLISH  LITERATURE.        CHAP.  XIX. 

phin,  eager  to  see  the  event  celebrated  in  some  worthy  manner, 
applied,  on  Halifax's  recommendation,  toAddison,  and  the  poem 
of  the  Campaign  was  the  result.  The  verses  are  stiff  and  artifi- 
cial enough ;  but  Addison,  abandoning  the  absurd  custom  of 
former  poets,  who  paint  a  military  hero  as  slaughtering  whole 
squadrons  with  his  single  arm,  places  the  glory  of  a  great  gen- 
eral on  its  true  basis  —  power  of  conceiving  and  executing  pro- 
found intellectual  combinations,  and  calmness  and  imperturbable 
foresight  in  the  hour  of  danger.  From  this  moment  the  career 
of  Addison  was  a  brilliant  and  successful  one.  He  was  appointed 
Under-Secretary  of  State,  and  afterwards  Chief  Secretary  for 
Ireland ;  besides  which  high  posts  he  at  different  times  received 
various  other  places  both  lucrative  and  honorable.  The  publi- 
cation of  the  Campaign  had  been  followed  by  that  of  his  Trav- 
els in  Italy,  exhibiting  proofs  not  only  of  Addison's  graceful 
scholarship,  but  also  of  his  delicate  humor,  his  benevolent 
morality,  and  his  deep  religious  spirit.  In  1707  he  gave  to  the 
world  his  pleasing  and  graceful  opera  of  Rosamond ;  and  about 
this  time  he  in  all  probability  sketched  the  comedy  of  the  Drum- 
mer, which  however  was  not  published  till  after  his  death,  when 
it  was  brought  out  by  his  friend  Steele,  who  is  said  to  have  had 
some  share  in  its  composition. 

348.  It  was  in  the  year  1709  that  Addison  embarked  in  that 
remarkable  literary  venture,  the  Spectator,  (183}  first  launched 
by  Steele,  a  short  account  of  whom  will  not  perhaps  be  out 
of  place  here.  SIR  RICHARD  STEELE  (1675-1729)  was  of  Irish 
origin,  and  as  the  school-fellow  of  Addison,  had  come  to  regard 
him  with  the  deepest  veneration  and  love.  (180}  Passionately 
fond  of  pleasure,  and  always  ready  to  sacrifice  his  own  interest 
to  the  whim  of  the  moment,  he  caused  himself  to  be  disinher- 
ited for  enlisting  in  the  Horse-Guards  as  a  private ;  and  when 
afterwards  promoted  to  a  commission,  he  wrote  a  moral  and  re- 
ligious treatise  entitled  the  Christian  Hero,  breathing  the  loftiest 
sentiments  of  piety  and  virtue.  Being  an  ardent  partisan  pam- 
phleteer, he  was  rewarded  by  Government  with  the  place  of 
Gazetteer,  which  gave  him  a  sort  of  monopoly  of  official  news  at 
a  time  when  newspapers  were  still  in  their  infancy.  In  1709  he 
determined  to  profit  by  the  facilities  this  post  afforded  him,  and 
to  found  a  new  species  of  periodical  which  should  combine  ordi- 
nary intelligence  with  a  series  of  light  and  agreeable  essays  upon 
topics  of  universal  interest,  likely  to  improve  the  taste,  the  man- 


A.  D.  1675-1729.       RICHARD   STEELE.  201 

ners,  and  the  morals  of  society.  To  this  he  gave  the  name  of 
the  Tatlcr,  (182)  a  small  sheet  which  appeared  thrice  a  week  at 
the  cost  of  a  penny,  each  number  containing  a  short  essay,  gen- 
erally extending  to  about  a  couple  of  octavo  pages,  and  the  rest 
filled  up  with  news  and  advertisements.  Addison,  who  was  in 
Ireland  as  the  time,  did  not  at  first  take  any  part  in  the  project; 
and  the  work  had  already  gone  through  several  nnmbers  be- 
fore he  even  became  aware  that  Steele  was  the  principal  au- 
thor; but  on  learning  the  fact,  he  gave  him  valuable  assistance, 
and  the  extent  of  his  later  contributions  is  well  known.  After 
a  fairly  successful  run  of  almost  two  years,  it  was  succeeded  by 
the  more  celebrated  Spectator,  which  was  carried  on  upon  the 
same  plan,  with  the  difference  that  it  appeared  every  day,  and 
reached  five  hundred  and  fifty-five  numbers  before  it  was  discon- 
tinued. A  third  journal,  the  Guardian,  was  commenced  in 
1712,  and  reached  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  numbers,  but  was 
strikingly  inferior  to  the  Spectator  both  in  talent  and  success. 
On  its  failure  the  old  Spectator  was  resumed,  but  never  got  be- 
yond the  eightieth  number.  Though  master  of  a  singularly 
ready  and  pleasant  pen,  Steele  was  of  course  obliged  to  obtain 
as  much  assistance  as  he  could  from  his  friends ;  and  many  wri- 
ters of  the  time  furnished  hints  or  contributions  —  Swift,  Berke- 
ley, Budgell,  and  others.  But  the  most  constant  and  powerful 
aid  was  supplied  by  Addison,  who  to  the  Tatler  contributed 
about  one  sixth,  to  the  Spectator  nearly  one  half,  and  to  the 
Guardian  one  third  of  the  whole  quantity  of  matter.  Steele 
died  at  Caermarthen,  in  Wales,  in  1729. 

349.  In  1713  Addison  brought  out  his  tragedy  of  Cato,  (185) 
which,  from  many  causes,  partly  political,  and  partly  personal, 
enjoyed  an  enormous  popularity.  It  is  a  solemn,  cold,  and  pom- 
pous series  of  tirades  in  the  French  taste,  and  is  written  in  scru- 
pulous adherence  to  the  classical  unities ;  but  the  intrigue  is 
totally  devoid  of  interest,  and  the  characters  are  mere  frigid 
embodiments  of  patriotic  and  virtuous  rhetoric.  In  1716  he  mar- 
ried the  Dowager  Countess  of  Warwick,  to  whose  son  he  had  in 
former  days  been  tutor ;  but  this  union  does  not  seem  to  have 
added  much  to  his  happiness.  He  then  took  up  his  residence  in 
Holland  House,  to  which  historic  abode  he  has  bequeathed  the 
glory  of  his  presence.  Neither  as  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  nor  as  a  Government  official,  can  Addison  be  said  to 
have  won  any  great  distinction  :  his  invincible  timidity  prevented 


202  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.         CHAP.  XIX. 

him  from  speaking  with  effect;  and  his  powers  of  conversation 
quite  deserted  him  in  the  presence  of  more  than  one  or  two  hear- 
ers. To  this  may  be  ascribed  the  most  marked  blemish  in  his 
character,  for  to  conquer  his  natural  diffidence,  and  to  give  flow 
and  vivacity  to  his  ideas,  he  had  recourse  to  wine.  We  must 
not  forget,  however,  that  excessive  drinking  was  rather  the 
fashion,  than  regarded  as  the  vice,  of  the  age  in  England. 

350.  In  1717  Addison  reached  the  highest  point  of  his  politi- 
cal career;  he  was  made  Secretary  of  State,  and  in  this  eminent 
position  exhibited  the  same  liberality,  modesty,  and  genuine 
public  spirit,  that  had  characterized  his  whole  life.     Even  in  his 
political  journals,   the  Freeholder  and  the  Examiner,  he  never 
departed  from  a  tone  of  candor,  moderation,  and  good  breeding, 
which  he  was  almost  the  first  to  introduce  into  political  discus- 
sion.   He  did  not  retain  his  post  of  Secretary  of  State  for  a  long 
period ;    but  soon  retired,  with  a  handsome  pension  of  fifteen 
hundred  pounds   a  year,  and  determined  to  devote  the  evening 
of  his  days  to  the  composition  of  an  elaborate  work  on  the  evi- 
dences of  the  Christian  religion.    In  this  task  he  was  interrupted 
by  death,  which  cut  short  his  career  in  1719.     His  celebrated 
quarrel  with  Pope  was  of  too  complicated  a  nature  to  be  de- 
scribed here;  but  however  painful  it  may  be  to  find  the  highest 
spirits  of  the  age  embittered  against  each  other,  we  can  hardly 
regret  it,  for  we  owe  to  it  one  of  the  finest  passages  of  Pope's 
works,  the  unequalled  lines  drawing  the  character  of  Atticus, 
which  was  unquestionably  meant  for  Addison.     Of  all  the  accu- 
sations so  brilliantly  launched  against  him,  Addison  might  plead 
guilty  to  none  save  the  very  venial  one  of  loving  to  surround 
himself  with  an  obsequious  circle  of  literary  admirers ;  but  the 
blacker  portions  of  the  portrait  are  traceable  to  the  pure  malig- 
nity of  the  sparkling  satirist. 

351.  It  is  the  prose  portion  of  Addison's  works  which  gives 
him   the  right  to  the  very  high  place  he  holds  in  the  English 
Literature  of  the  eighteenth  century;  and  among  them,  almost 
exclusively  those  Essays  which  he  contributed  to  the  Tatler, 
Spectator,  and   Guardian.     The  immense  fertility  of  invention 
displayed  in  these  charming  papers,  the  variety  of  their  subjects, 
and  the  singular  felicity  of  their  treatment,  will  ever  place  them 
among   the   masterpieces   of   fiction    and   of   criticism.      Their 
variety  is  indeed  extraordinary.     Nothing  is  too  high,  nothing 
too  low,  to  furnish  matter  for  amusing  and  yet  profitable  reflec- 


A.  D.  1672-1719.  ADDISON.  203 

tion ;  from  the  patched  and  cherry-colored  ribbons  of  the  ladies 
to  the  loftiest  principles  of  morality  and  religion,  everything  is 
treated  with  appropriate  yet  unforced  appositeness.  Addison 
was  long  held  up  as  the  finest  model  of  elegant  yet  idiomatic 
English  prose;  and  even  now  the  student  will  find  in  him  some 
qualities  that  never  can  become  obsolete  —  a  never-failing  clear- 
ness and  limpidity  of  expression,  and  a  singular  harmony 
between  the  language  and  the  thought.  To  Steele  is  due  the 
invention  of  the  Club  in  the  Spectator,  consisting  of  representa- 
tives of  the  chief  classes  of  town  and  rural  society.  Thus  we 
have  Sir  Andrew  Freeport  as  the  type  of  the  merchants,  Cap- 
tain Sentry  of  the  soldiers,  Sir  Roger  de  Coverley  of  the  old- 
fashioned  country-gentlemen,  and  Will  Honeycomb  of  the  men 
of  fashion  and  pleasure ;  while  linking  them  all  together  is  Mr. 
Spectator  himself,  the  short-faced  gentleman,  who  looks  with  a 
somewhat  satirical  yet  good-humored  interest  on  all  that  he  sees 
going  on  around  him.  The  inimitable  personage  of  Sir  Roger 
de  Coverley  is  a  perfectly  finished  picture,  worthy  of  Cervantes 
or  of  Walter  Scott ;  and  the  manner  in  which  the  foibles  and 
the  virtues  of  the  old  squire  are  combined  is  a  proof  that  Ad- 
dison, who  added  most  of  the  subtile  strokes  to  the  character, 
possessed  humor  in  its  highest  and  most  delicate  perfection. 
And  the  inimitable  sketches  of  his  dependants,  the  chaplain,  the 
butler,  and  Will  Wimble,  the  poor  relation  —  all  these  traits  of 
character  and  delicate  observation  of  nature  must  ever  place 
Addison  very  high  among  the  great  painters  of  human  nature. 
352.  Addison's  poetry,  though  very  popular  in  'his  own  time, 
has  since  fallen  in  public  estimation  to  a  point  very  far  below 
that  occupied  by  his  prose.  The  songs  in  Rosamond  are  pleas- 
ing and  musical ;  and,  had  Addison  continued  to  write  in  that 
manner,  he  would  undoubtedly  have  left  something  which  rival 
authors  would  have  found  it  very  difficult  to  surpass.  His 
Hymns  not  only  breathe  a  fervent  and  tender  spirit  of  piety,  but 
are  in  their  diction  and  versification  stamped  with  great  beauty 
and  refinement;  especially  the  verses  beginning,  "When  all 
Thy  mercies,  O  my  God,"  and  the  well-known  adaptation  of  the 
noble  psalm,  "The  Heavens  declare  the  Glory  of  God."  The 
earlier  and  more  ambitious  poems  of  Addison,  even  including 
the  once-lauded  Campaign,  have  little  to  distinguish  them  from 
the  vast  mass  of  regular,  frigid,  irreproachable  composition 
popular  in  that  time. 


204  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.         CHAP.  XIX. 

353.  SIR  WILLIAM  TEMPLE  (1628-1698),  whose  name  is  more 
famous    in    politics   than  in    literature,  produced  a   number  of 
graceful    though  superficial  Essays,  which    were  extravagantly 
lauded  at  a  time  when  the  rank  of  a  writer  much  increased  the 
public  admiration  of  his  works ;  but  which  are  now  read  with 
interest  principally  on  account  of  their  easy  good  sense,  and  the 
agreeable  style  in  which  they  are  written.     One  of  these,  that 
on  Ancient  and  Modern  Learning,  will  long  be  remembered  as 
having   originated    the    notorious   controversy   respecting    the 
authenticity   of   the  "Epistles   of   Phalaris."     Even   in   letter- 
writing,  said  Temple,  the  Ancients  are  superior  to  the  Moderns; 
witness  the  epistles  of  Phalaris,  which  are  still  unapproached 
and  unapproachable.  {187}     A  new  edition  of  these  invaluable 
productions  was  published  by  the  Christ-Church  Wits,  contain- 
ing a  severe  reflection  on  Bentley,  the  great  scholar;  who,  stung 
by  the  injustice  of  the  attack,  replied  with  an  argument  to  prove 
the  spuriousness  of  these  much-lauded  letters.     Thus  began  the 
great  Boyle  and  Bentley  Controversy  ;  which  terminated  in  the 
complete  triumph  of  Bentley. 

354.  No   name   among  the  brilliant  circle  which  surrounded 
Pope  and  Swift,  is  more  remarkable  than  that  of  BISHOP  ATTER- 
BURY  (1662-1732).     A  Tory  and  Jacobite  of  the  extreme  Oxford 
type,  he  played  a  prominent  part  both  on  the  political  and  liter- 
ary scene.     He  was  a  man  of  great  intellectual  activity,  of  con- 
siderable, though   by  no  means   profound   learning,  and  of   a 
violent,  imperious,  and  restless  temper.     He  took  an  active  part 
in  the  controversy  between  Boyle  and  Bentley,  and  was  for  a 
time  considered,  by  the  people  of  fashion  who  knew  nothing  of 
the  subject,  to   have   completely   demolished   the   dull,  ill-bred 
Cambridge  pedant.     He  was  the  principal  author  of  the  reply 
written  in  the  name  of  Boyle,  whose  tutor  he  had  been  at  Christ 
Church,  of  which  illustrious  college  Atterbury  was  for  some  time 
Dean.     He  was  in  1713  raised  to  the  see  of  Rochester,  and  be- 
came conspicuous  not  only  as  a  controversialist,  but  for  the  force 
and  eloquence  of  his  speeches  in  Parliament.     His  plot  for  the 
restoration  of  the  exiled  Stuarts,  his  banishment  in  1723,  and 
the  remaining  events  of  his  feverish  life,  belong  to  the  history 
of  the  country.      The  private  and  personal  side  of  Atterbury's 
character  is  far  more  attractive  and  respectable  than  his  public 
conduct.     His  friendship  for  Pope  was  tender  and  sincere  ;  and 
he  was  not  "only  the  great  poet's  most  affectionate  companion, 


A.  D.  1671-1751.    SHAFTESBURY.  BOLINGBROKE.    205 

but  guided  him  with  wise  and  valuable  literary  counsel.  His 
taste  in  literature  appears  to  have  been  sound ;  and  the  intense 
admiration  he  always  showed  for  the  genius  of  Milton  is  the 
more  honorable  to  his  judgment,  as  his  extreme  Tory  opinions 
must  have  made  it  difficult  for  him  to  sympathize  with  the 
Puritan  and  Republican  poet. 

355.  LORD  SHAFTESBURY  (1671-1713),  grandson  of  the  famous 
chancellor,  and  pupil  of  Locke,  stands  very  high  both  as  a  mor- 
alist and  metaphysician,  and  also  as  an  elegant  and  classical 
model  of  English  prose.  His  collected  works  bear  the  title  of 
Characteristics,  and  may  still  be  read  with  interest.  Shaftes- 
bury's  style  is  refined  and  regular,  though  somewhat  ambitious 
and  finical;  but  he  sometimes,  as  in  his  dialogue  entitled  the 
Moralists,  (188}  rises  to  a  lofty  height  of  limpid  eloquence. 
His  delineations  of  character  show  much  acuteness  and  observa- 
tion, and  have  obtained  for  him  the  honor  of  comparison  with 
La  Bruyere,  to  whose  neat  antithetical  mode  of  portrait-painting 
the  thoughts  and  language  of  Shaftesbury  bear  no  inconsidera- 
ble resemblance. 

350.  HENRY  ST.  JOHN,  VISCOUNT  BOLINGBROKE  (1678-1751), 
remarkable  fo'r  his  extraordinary  career  as  a  statesman  and  ora- 
tor, was  a  prominent  member  of  the  brilliant  coterie  of  Pope  and 
Swift.  After  many  strange  vicissitudes,  he  amused  the  declin- 
ing years  of  life  in  the  composition  of  many  political,  moral, 
and  philosophical  essays.  One  of  these,  the  Idea  of  a  Patriot 
King,  (190)  he  gave  in  MS.  to  Pope,  and  exhibited  great  anger 
when  he  discovered,  after  the  poet's  death,  that  the  latter  had 
caused  a  large  impression  to  be  printed,  contrary  to  a  solemn 
promise.  Of  his  other  works,  his  Letter  to  Sir  William  Wind- 
ham  in  defence  of  his  political  conduct,  and  his  Letters,  on  the 
Study  and  Use  of  Plistory,  (189~)  are  the  most  important.  The 
language  of  Bolingbroke  is  lofty  and  oratorical ;  but  the  tone  of 
philosophical  indifference  to  the  usual  objects  of  ambition  gen- 
erally strikes  the  reader  as  affected.  It  was  to  Bolingbroke  that 
Pope  addressed  the  Essay  on  Man,  and  some  of  the  not  very 
orthodox  positions  maintained  in  that  poem  were  borrowed  from 
his  brilliant  writings.  Bolingbroke's  writings  against  revealed 
religion  were  bequeathed  by  him  to  his  friend  DAVID  MALLET, 
an  unbeliever,  who  .brought  them  out,  together  with  Boling- 
broke's other  works,  in  1754.  Mallet,  who  died  in  1765,  was 
himself  an  author,  but  is  now  chiefly  known  by  his  Ballads,  of 


206  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.          CHAP.  XIX. 

which  William  and  Margaret  is  the  most  striking  and  beau- 
tiful. 

357.  The   most  celebrated  work  of  BERNARD  MANDEVILLE 
(1670-1733)  is   the  Fable  of  the  Bees,   a  poem  with   notes,   in 
which  the  author  endeavors  to  prove  that  private  vices  may  be 
public  benefits;  or,  in  other  words,  that  the  play  of  human  pas- 
sions and  propensities,  however  immoral  some  of  them  may  be 
in  the  relations  between  man  and  man,  works  unconsciously  to- 
wards the  welfare  of  that  complex  body  which  we  call  society. 
His  doctrines  were  vigorously  assailed  by  the  accomplished  and 
almost  ideally  virtuous  BISHOP  BERKELEY  (1684-1753),  equally 
famous  for  the  evangelic  benevolence  of  his  character  and  the 
acuteness  of  his  genius,  whose  mind  was  ever  full  of  projects  for 
increasing  the  virtue  and  happiness  of  his  fellow-creatures.     As 
Bishop  of  Cloyne  in  Ireland,  he  presents  one  of  the  rare  in- 
stances of  a  prelate,  out  of  pure  love  for  his  flock  and  an  unaf- 
fected contentment  with  his  lot,  obstinately  refusing  any  further 
promotion.     His  writings  are  exceedingly  numerous,    and  em- 
brace a  wide  field  of  moral  and  metaphysical  discussion.  (191} 
lie  is  one  of  the  most  brilliant,  as  well  as  one  of  the  earliest 
maintainers  of  the  extreme  spiritualistic  theory;  and  thus  is  in 
some  degree  an  opponent  of  Locke.     Berkeley  frequently  wrote 
in  the  form  of  dialogue;  and  one  of  the  most  characteristic  and 
popular  of  his  works  is  entitled  The  Minute  Philosopher.     In  the 
connection  between  the  physical  and  metaphysical  branches  of 
investigation,   Berkeley's  writings  -occupy  an  important  place: 
thus  his  Theory  of  Vision  established  several  valuable  facts ;  and 
he  drew  conclusions  from  several  striking  phenomena,  co-ncern- 
ing  that  subtile  subject.     In  all  his  arguments  his  aim  was  to 
refute  the  materialists. 

358.  LADY  MARY  WORTLEY  MONTAGU  (1690-1762)  was  the 
most  brilliant  letter-writer  of  this  period,  when  Pope  and  many 
other  distinguished  men  of  letters  assiduously  cultivated  the 
epistolary  form  of  composition.     She  was  the  daughter  of  the 
Duke  of  Kingston,  and  celebrated,  even  from  her  childhood,  as 
Lady  Mary  Pierrepont,  for  the  vivacity  of  her  intellect,  her  pre- 
cocious mental  acquirements,  and  the  beauty  and  graces  of  her 
person.     Her  education  had  been  far  more  extensive  and  solid 
than  was  then  usually  given  to  women  :  her  acquaintance  with 
history,  and  even  with  Latin,  was  considerable,  and  her  studies 
had  been  in  some  degree  directed  by  Biehop  Burnet.     In  1712 


A.  D.  1G90-1762.      LADY  M.  WORTLE7  MONTAGU.     207 

she  married  Mr.  Edward  Wortley  Montagu,  a  grave  and  satur- 
nine diplomatist,  with  whose  character  the  sprightly  and  airy- 
woman  of  fashion  and  literature  could  have  had  nothing  in  com- 
mon. She  accompanied  her  husband  on  his  embassy  to  the  court 
of  Constantinople,  and  described  her  travels  over  Europe  and  the 
East  in  those  delightful  Letters  which  have  given  her  in  Eng- 
lish literature  a  place  resembling  that  of  Madame  de  Sevigne 
in  the  literature  of  France.  (192}  Admirable  common  sense, 
observation,  vivacity,  extensive  reading  without  a  trace  of  ped- 
antry, and  a  pleasant  tinge  of  half-playful  sarcasm,  are  the 
qualities  which  distinguish  her  correspondence.  The  style  is 
perfection :  the  simplicity  and  natural  elegance  of  the  high- 
born and  high-bred  lady  combined  with  the  ease  of  the  thorough 
woman  of  the  world.  The  moral  tone,  indeed,  is  far  from  being 
high,  for  neither  the  character  nor  the  career  of  Lady  Mary  had 
been  such  as  to  cherish  a  very  scrupulous  delicacy.  But  she  had 
seen  so  much,  and  had  been  brought  into  contact  with  so  manv 
remarkable  persons,  and  in  a  way  that  gave  her  unusual  means 
of  judging  of  them,  that  she  is  always  sensible  and  amusing. 
The  successful  introduction  of  inoculation  for  the  smallpox  is 
mainly  to  be  attributed  to  the  intelligence  and  courage  of  Lady 
Mary  Montagu,  who  not  only  had  the  .courage  to  try  the  experi- 
ment upon  her  own  child,  but  with  admirable  constancy  resisted 
the  furious  opposition  of  bigotry  and  ignorance  against  the  bold 
innovation.  She  was  at  one  time  the  intimate  friend  of  Pope, 
and  the  object  of  his  most  ardent  adulation ;  but  a  violent  quar- 
rel occurred  between  them,  and  the  spiteful  poet  pursued  her 
for  a  time  with  an  almost  furious  hatred.  She  is  the  Sappho 
of  his  satirical  works 


208  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.          CHAP.  XX. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE    GREAT    NOVELISTS. 

359.  MOST  departments  of  literature  were  cultivated  earlier  in 
England  than  that  of  Prose  Fiction.     We  have,  it  is  true,  the 
romantic  form  of  this  kind  of  writing  in  the  Arcadia  of  Sydney, 
and  the  philosophical  form  in  the  Utopia  and  the  Atlantis ;  but 
the  exclusive  employment  of  prose  narrative  in  the  delineation 
of"  the  passions,  characters,  and  incidents  of  real  life  was  first 
carried  to  perfection  by  a  constellation  of  great  writers  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  among  whom  the  names  of  Defoe,  Richard- 
son, Fielding,   Smollett,  Sterne,  and  Goldsmith,  are  the  most 
brilliant  luminaries.     In  England,  where  the  genius  of  the  na- 
tion is  eminently  practical,  and  where  the  immense  development 
of  free  institutions  has  tended  to  encourage  individuality  of  char- 
acter, and  to  give  importance  to  private  and  domestic  life,  the 
literature   of   Fiction    divided   into   two    great  but  correlative 
branches,  to  which  our  language  alone  has  given  specific  and 
distinct  appellations  —  the   Romance   and   the  Novel.     Of  the 
former  the  characters  and  incidents  are  of  a  lofty,  historical,  or 
supernatural  tone  ;  the  latter  expresses  a  recital  of  the  events  of 
ordinary  or  domestic  life,  generally  of  a  contemporary  epoch. 
It  is  the  latter  department  in  which  English  writers,  from  the 
time  of  its  first  appearance  in  our  literature  -down  to  the  present 
time,  have  encountered  few  rivals  and  no  superiors. 

360.  The  founder  of  the   English  Novel  is  DANIEL  DEFOE 
(1661-1731),  a  man  of  extraordinary  versatility  and  energy  as  a 
writer;  for  his  complete  works  are  said  to  comprise  upwards  of 
two  hundred  separate  compositions.     Of  humble  origin,  he  was 
educated  for  the  ministry  in  a  dissenting  sect,  but  embraced  a 
mercantile  career,  having  at  various  periods  carried  on  the  busi- 
ness of  a  hosier,  a  tile-maker,  and  a  woollen-draper.    He  carried 
his  devotion  to  Protestant  principles  so  far  as  to  join  the  abor- 
tive insurrection  under  the  Duke  of  Monmouth ;  though  from 
this  danger  he  escaped  with  impunity.     In  spite  of  the  pillory, 


A.  D.  1661-1731.        DANIEL  DEFOE.  209 

of  fines  and  imprisonment,  to  which  he  was  condemned  more 
than  once,  he  continued  fearlessly  to  pour  forth  pamphlet  after 
pamphlet,  full  of  irony,  logic,  and  patriotism.  Among  the  most 
celebrated  of  his  works  in  this  class  are  his  Trucborn  English- 
man, a  poem  in  singularly  tuneless  rhymes,  but  full  of  strong 
sense  and  vigorous  argument,  in  which  he  defends  William  of 
Orange  and  the  Dutch  against  the  prejudices  of  his  countrymen  : 
the  Hymn  to  the  Pillory,  and  the  famous  pamphlet  The  Shortest 
}\  av  with  the  Dissenters,  written  in  1702,  in  which,  to  show  the 
folly  and  cruelty  of  the  recent  Acts  persecuting  the  Sectarians, 
he  with  admirable  sarcasm  adopts  the  tone  of  a  violent  persecu- 
tor, and  advises  Parliament  to  employ  the  stake,  the  pillory,  and 
the  halter,  with  unrelenting  severity.  For  this  he  was  thrice 
pilloried,  and  lay  in  Newgate  for  more  than  a  year,  during  which 
imprisonment  he  commenced  the  Review,  a  literary  journal 
whichjmay  be  regarded  as  the  prototype  of  our  modern  semi- 
political,  semi-literary  periodicals.  It  appeared  thrice  a  week, 
and  was  written  with  great  force  and  ready  vigor  of  language. 
During  the  negotiations  which  preceded  the  union  of  Scotland 
to  the  British  crown,  he  was  employed  as  a  confidential  agent  in 
Edinburgh,  and  acquitted  himself  with  ability. 

361.  In  1719  Defoe  published  the  first  part  of  Robinson  Crusoe, 
the  success  of  which,  among  that  comparatively  humble  class  of 
readers  which  Defoe  generally  addressed,  was  instantaneous  and 
immense.  The  primary  idea  of  this  famous  work  may  have 
been  derived  from  the  authentic  narrative  of  Alexander  Selkirk. 
a  sailor  who  had  been  marooned,  as  the  term  then  was,  by  his 
captain  on  the  uninhabited  island  of  Juan  Fernandez,  where  he 
passed  several  years  in  complete  solitude.  The  intense  interest 
of  Robinson  Crusoe  arises  partly  from  the  simplicity  and  proba- 
bility of  the  events,  the  unforeseenness  of  many  of  which  com- 
pletely annihilates  the  reader's  suspicion  of  the  truth  of  what  he 
is  perusing,  and  partly  from  the  skill  with  which  Defoe  identifies 
himself  with  the  character  of  his  Recluse,  who  is  always  repre- 
sented as  a  commonplace  man,  without  any  pretensions  to  ex- 
traordinary knowledge  or  intelligence.  It  is  perhaps  somewhat 
injurious  that  this  book  is  generally  read  when  we  are  very 
young;  for  the  impression  it  leaves  upon  the  memory  and  the 
imagination  are  so  deep  and  permanent  that  we  do  not  return  to 
the-  work  when  increased  intellectual  development  would  make 
us  better  able  to  appreciate  Defoe's  wonderful  art.  The  second 


210  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  XX. 

part,  which  the  success  of  the  first  encouraged  Defoe  to  produce, 
is  inferior  to  the  first;  indeed,  the  moment  the  solitude  of  the 
island  is  invaded  by  more  strangers  than  Friday,  the  charm  is 
evidently  diminished.  Scott  has  well  remarked  that  a  striking 
evidence  of  Defoe's  skill  in  this  kind  of  fiction  is  the  studiously 
low  key,  both  as  regards  style  and  incidents,  in  which  the  whole 
is  pitched. 

3G2.  Among  Defoe's  numerous  other  works  of  fiction  may  be 
mentioned  the  Memoirs  of  a  Cavalier,  supposed  to  have  been 
written  by  one  who  had  taken  part  in  the  great  Civil  War,  which 
so  far  deceived  even  the  great  Lord  Chatham  that  he  cited  it  as 
an  authentic  narrative.  A  not  less  remarkable  narrative  is  the 
Journal  of  the  Great  Plague  in  London,  (193}  where  the  im- 
aginary annalist,  a  respectable  London  shopkeeper — a  charac- 
ter which  Defoe  assumed  with  consummate  skill  —  describes  the 
terrible  sights  of  that  fearful  time.  Nothing  can  exceed  the 
vividness  with  which  episodes  of  the  city  life  during  the  great 
calamity  are  set  before  us ;  and  in  some  passages,  as  in  the  de- 
scription of  the  maniac  fanatic  Solomon  Eagle,  the  Great  Pit  in 
Aldgate,  and  the  long  line  of  anchored  ships  stretching  far 
down  the  Thames,  Defoe  rises  into  a  very  lofty  and  powerful 
strain  of  description.  A  number  of  stories  —  the  Adventures  of 
Colonel  Jack,  Moll  Flanders,  Roxana,  Captain  Singleton,  — 
show  the  same  quiet  power  of  imitating  reality.  In  a  remark- 
able tract  he  has  described  the  Apparition  of  one  Mrs.  Veal  to 
her  friend  Mrs.  Bargrave  at  Canterbury;  and  this  is  one  of 
the  boldest  experiments  ever  made  upon  human  credulity.  It 
was  composed  to  help  oft"  the  sale  of  a  dull  book  of  Sermons, 
and  had  the  effect  of  instantly  causing  the  whole  edition  to  quit 
the  bookseller's  shelves ;  for  Drelincourt  on  Death  was  power- 
fully recommended  by  the  visitor  from  another  world. 

3G3.  But  SAMUEL  RICHARDSON  (1689-1761)  must  be  regarded 
as  the  real  founder  of  the  romance  of  private  life.  He  was  born 
of  very  humble  rustic  parentage,  and  came  to  London  when  a 
lad  to  be  apprenticed  to  a  printer.  In  this  calling  he  distin- 
guished himself  by  so  much  diligence  that  he  gradually  rose  to 
the  highest  place  in  his  business,  having  at  last  become  the  pur- 
chaser of  a  half  share  in  the  lucrative  patent  office  of  Printer  to 
the  King.  Having  accumulated  an  easy  fortune,  he  retired  to  a 
pleasant  suburban  house  at  Parson's  Green,  near  London,  where 
he  passed  an  honorable  old  age  in  literary  employment,  sur- 


A.  D.  1689-1761.     SAMUEL  EICHARDSON.  211 

rounded  by  a  little  knot  of  female  worshippers,  whose  adulatory 
incense  his  intense  vanity  made  him  greedily  receive.  The 
works  of  Richardson  are  three  in  number :  Pamela,  published 
in  1741,  Clarissa  Harloiue,  in  1749,  and  Sir  Charles  Grandison, 
in  1753.  These  three  novels  are  all  written  upon  one  plan ;  that 
is,  the  story  is  entirely  told  in  letters  which  are  supposed  to  be 
written  by  the  various  persons  in  the  action,  a  mode  of  fictitious 
composition  which  is  attended  with  advantages  and  disadvan- 
tages of  a  very  evident  kind.  It  was  in  any  case  eminently 
suited  to  «the  peculiar  genius  of  Richardson,  which  is  seen 
rather  in  the  evolution  of  character  by  slow  and  delicate  touches 
of  self-betrayal,  than  by  any  vigor  of  description  of  persons  or 
events. 

364.  Pamela  describes  the  sufferings,  trials,  and  vicissitudes 
undergone  by  a  poor,  but  beautiful  and  innocent,  country  girl 
who  enters  the  service  of  a  rich  gentleman.     She  triumphantly 
resists  all  the  seductions,    and   all   the  violence  by  which   he 
essays  to  overcome  her  virtue,  and  even  the  promptings  of  her 
own  heart  in  his  favor;   for  Richardson  represents  her  as  pas- 
sionately attached  to  her  unworthy  master,  to  whom,  by  way  of 
a  moral  inculcating  the  reward  of  virtue,  she  is  ultimately  mar- 
ried.    Pamela  originally  sprang  from   a    collection  of  familiar 
letters  which  Richardson,  at  the  request  of  his  publishing  firm, 
had  undertaken  to  write  as  a  manual  to  improve  the  style  and 
the  morality  of  the  middle  classes  of  readers  :  and  while  engaged 
on  it  he  was  struck  with  the  happy  idea  of  making  his  letters  tell 
a  continuous  story*    The  popularity  of  the  work  was   so  great 
that  five  editions  were  exhausted  in  one  year;  although  this,  like 
all  Richardson's  works,  is  extremely  voluminous. 

365.  Clarissa  Harloive  is  incontestably  Richardson's  greatest 
work.    Whether  we  consider  the  interest  of  the  story,  the  variety 
and  truth   of  the  characters,  or  the  intense  pathos  of  the  catas- 
trophe, to  which  every  incident  artfully  leads,  we  must  not  only 
accord  it  a  decisive  superiority  over  his   other  productions,  but 
must  give  it  one  of  the  foremost  places  in  the  history  of  prose 
fiction.     It  is  the  story  of  a  young  lady  who  falls  a  victim  to  the 
treachery  and  profligacy  of  a  man  of  splendid  talent  and  attrac- 
tions, but  of  complete  and  almost  diabolical  corruption.    Though 
Richardson,  both  by  natural  disposition   and  circumstances,  is 
far  more  successful  in  the  delineation  of  female   than  of  male 
characters,  Lovelace,  the  seducer,  is  one  of  the  most  perfect  and 


212  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  XX. 

finished  portraits  that  literature  has  to  show.  There  is  no  better 
proof  of  this  than  the  fact  that  the  name  has  become  in  all  lan- 
guages the  sjnonjme  of  the  brilliant  and  unprincipled  seducer; 
which  circumstance  also  gives  us  a  record  of  the  immense  popu- 
larity which  Richardson  still  enjoys  throughout  Europe. 

366.  The    last  work    in    this    famous   trilogy  is  Sir   Charles 
Grandison,  in  which  the  author,  who  never  relinquished  the  idea 
of  incorporating  amoral  in  his  fictions,  intended  to  give  an  ideal 
portrait  of  a  character  which  should  combine  consummate  ethical 
and  religious  perfection  with  the  graces  and  accomplishments  of 
a  man  of  fashion.     In   his   three  successive  novels  Richardson 
essayed  to  portray  three  different  orders  in  the   social   scale  :  in 
Pamela  the    lower,  in   Clarissa  the  middle,  and   in    Grandison 
the  aristocratic  class  of  society.     But  he  was,  from  education 
and  position,  totally  unacquainted  with   the   real  manners  and 
modes   of  thought   and   feeling   prevalent   in    the    fashionable 
world;  and  in  describing  what  he  so  imperfectly  guessed  at  he 
fell  into  the  error  natural  to  men  of  imperfect  education  and  in- 
experienced in  the  manners  of  the  great  world.      He  is  perpetu- 
ally  straining   after   fine    language,    which   forms    a   ludicrous 
contrast   with    the   really  easy  unaffected   tone   of  the   higher 
circles.     It  is  said  that  Richardson  consulted  a  great  lady  as  to 
the  tone  and  language  of  high  life;  and  that  she  found  so  many 
errors  and  inconsistencies  that  he  abandoned  in  despair  the  hope 
of  correcting  them.     The  distinguishing  characteristics  of  Rich- 
ardson are  patient  analysis  of  the  human   mind  and  passions, 
particularly  in  the  female  sex,  a  tendency  to  accumulate  minute 
incident  and  microscopic  description,  and   a  sickly  and  morbid 
tone  of  sentiment,  combined  with  a  pathetic  force  rarely  found 
in  writers  of  any  nation. 

367.  The   second   great   name   among   the   novelists  of  this 
period   is   that  of  HENRY   FIELDING  (1707-1754),   qualified  by 
Byron  as  "  the  prose  Homer  of  human  nature."   In  his  personal 
character,    as  well   as    in  his    literary  career,  —  in  everything, 
indeed,  but  the  power  of  his  genius,  —  he  was  the  exact  opposite 
of  Richardson.     Of  noble  birth,  being  a  descendant  of  the  illus- 
trious house  of  Denbigh,  and  son  of  General  Fielding,  he  early 
in  life  succeeded  to  a  ruined  inheritance,  and  betook  himself  to 
the  stage,  becoming  a  dramatic  author  and  a  lively  writer  in  the 
Covent  Garden  Journal.     He  produced  a  considerable  number 
of  pieces,  now  entirely  forgotten,  which  show  that  his  talent  was 


A.  D.  1707-1754.        HENRY  FIELDING.  213 

in  no  way  adapted  to  the  theatre.  His  career  for  some  years 
was  a  continuous  struggle  with  fortune  and  his  own  extrava- 
gance. He  married  an  excellent  lady,  and  squandered  her  not 
inconsiderable  portion;  he  speculated  in  the  Haymarket  Theatre, 
and  failed  utterly;  he  then  tried  the  law,  and  was  called  to  the 
bar,  but  without  any  immediate  advantage.  He  also  took  an 
active  part  in  political  controversjr,  and  in  numerous  pamphlets 
and  articles  for  journals  maintained  liberal  and  anti-Jacobita 
principles.  But  it  was  not  until  the  year  1742  that  he  struck  out 
that  vein  of  humorous  writing  in  which  he  never  had,  nor  is 
ever  likely  to  have,  a  rival ;  when  he  produced  his  first  novel, 
Joseph  Andrews,  which  was  in  some  sense  intended  as  a  parody 
or  caricature,  ridiculing  the  timid  and  fastidious  morality,  the 
shopkeeper  tone  and  the  somewhat  preaching  good-boy  style  of 
Pamela,  just  then  in  the  full  blaze  of  success.  Fielding's  novel 
at  once  received  the  honor  due  to  a  great  original  creation ;  and 
in  pretty  rapid  succession  he  produced  his  Journey  front  this 
World  to  the  Next,  full  of  political  allusions  that  have  now  lost 
their  piquancv,  and  his  truly  remarkable  satirical  tale  The  Life 
of  Jonathan  Wild  the  Great.  In  1749  he  was  appointed  to  the 
laborious  and  then  far  from  respectable  post  of  a  London  policy 
magistrate  :  and  while  engaged  in  this  occupation  he  composed 
the  finest,  completest,  and  profoundest  of  his  works,  the  incom- 
parable Tom  Jones;  (104)  which  was  followed  after  a  brief 
interval  by  Amelia,  in  which  he  unquestionably  intended  to  por- 
tray some  of  his  own  follies  and  irregularities,  but  with  the  prin- 
cipal object  of  paying  a  tribute  to  the  virtues  and  affection  of 
his  first  wife.  Ruined  in  health  by  labor  and  excesses,  he  sailed 
for  Lisbon  in  1754;  and  after  a  short  time  died  in  that  city,  and 
was  buried  in  the  Protestant  cemetery  there  towards  the  end  of 
the  same  year. 

368.  The  qualities  which  distinguish  Fielding's  genius  are  ac- 
curate observation  of  character,  and  an  extraordinary  power  of 
deducing  the  actions  and  expressions  of  his  personages  from  the 
elements  of  their  nature,  a  constant  sympathy  with  the  vigorous 
unrestrained  characters,  in  all  ranks  of  society,  but  especially  in 
the  lowest,  which  he  loved  to  delineate.  In  the  construction  of 
his  plots  he  is  masterly-  That  of  Tom  Jones  is  perhaps  the  finest 
example  to  be  met  with  in  fiction  of  a  series  of  events  probable 
yet  surprising,  each  of  which  inevitably  leads  to  the  ultimate 
catastropl  e.  He  combined  an  almost  childish  delight  in  fun 


214  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.          CHAP.  XX. 

and  extravagantly  ludicrous  incident,  with  a  philosophic  close- 
ness of  analysis  of  character  and  an  impressive  tone  of  moral  re- 
flection, the  latter  often  masked  under  a  pleasant  air  of  satire 
and  irony.  His  novels  breathe  a  sort  of  fresh  open-air  atmos- 
phere, a  strong  contrast  to  the  close  artificial  medium  which  per- 
vades the  romances  of  Richardson. 

309.  The  most  attractive  character  in  Joseph  Andre-ws  is  Par- 
son Adams,  one  of  the  richest,  most  humorous,  and  truly  genial 
conceptions  of  this  great  -artist.  Adams's  learning,  simplicitv, 
and  courage,  together  with  his  innumerable  and  always  consis- 
tent oddities,  make  him  as  truly  humorous  a  character  as  Sancho 
Panza  himself.  In  the  adventures  of  Jonathan  Wild  the  Great 
the  exploits  of  a  consummate  scoundrel  are  related  in  a  tone  cf 
ironical  admiration;  and  the  story  contains  some  powerful  and 
many  humorous  scenes. 

370.  In   Tom  Jones  it  is  difficult  to  know  what  most  to  admire 
—  the  artful  conduct  of  the  plot,  the  immense  variety,  truth,  and 
humor  of  the  personages,  the  gayety  of  the  incidents,  or  the 
acute  remarks  which  the  author  has  copiously  introduced.     The 
character  of  Squire  Western,  the  type  of  the  violent,  brutal  rural 
magnate  of  those  days,  is  one  which  remains  for  ever  fixed  on 
the  memory.     Tom  Jones  himself  and  the  fair   Sophy,  though 
elaborated  by  the  author  with  peculiar  care,  as  types  of  all  that 
he  thought  attractive,  are  tinged  with  much  coarseness  and  vul- 
garity; but  the  time  when  Fielding  wrote  was  remarkable  for 
the  low  tone  of  manners  and  sentiment. 

371.  The  interest  of  Amelia  is  entirely  domestic  and  familiar: 
the  errors  and  repentance  of  Captain  Booth,  and  the  inexhausti- 
ble love  and  indulgence  of  the  heroine,  are  strongly  contrasted. 
Fielding  had  little  power  over  the  pathetic  emotions;  there  are, 
however,  in  this  novel  several  episodes  and  strokes  of  character 
which  are  touching,  and  which  exhibit  that  peculiar  characteris- 
tic of  truly  humorous  conceptions,  namely,  the  power  of  touch- 
ing the  heart  while  exciting  the  sense  of  the  ludicrous. 

372.  TOBIAS  GEORGE  SMOLLETT  (1721-1771)  was  descended 
from  an  ancient  and  respectable  family  in  Scotland.  (195)     Af- 
ter remaining  a  short  time  in  the  service  of  a  medical  practitioner 
in  Glasgow,  he  proceeded  to  London  when  only  nineteen  years 
of  age  with  the  MS.  of  a  tragedy,  entitled  the  Regicide,  in  his 
pocket.     Failing  in  his  attempt  to  bring  out  this  work  he  entered 
the  naval  service  as  surgeon's  mate,  and  was  present  at  the  uu- 


A.  D.  1721-1771.  SMOLLETT.  215 

fortunate  expedition  to  Carthagena  in  1741.  Here  he  had  the 
opportunity  of  studying  the  oddities  of  sea-characters,  which  he 
afterwards  so  admirably  reproduced  in  his  fictions,  and  of  learn- 
ing by  experience  the  atrocious  cruelty,  corruption  and  incom- 
petency  which  then  reigned  in  the  naval  administration.  In 
1748  he  began  his  career  as  a  novelist  with  Roderick  Random  ; 
in  which,  as  indeed  in  all  his  novels,  he  relied  for  success  rather 
on  a  lively  series  of  grotesque  adventures  than  on  any  elabora- 
tion of  intrigue  or  deep  analysis  of  character.  Peregrine.  Pic- 
kle was  published  in  1751 ;  and  Smollett  now  devoted  himself  to 
the  career  of  a  writer  and  politician.  In  1753  he  produced  his 
third  great  romance,  The  Adventures  of  Ferdinand,  CoiDit 
Fathom,  describing,  with  a  higher  moral  intention  than  is 
usually  found  in  his  works,  the  career  of  an  unprincipled  scoun- 
drel, cheat,  and  swindler.  A  few  years  afterwards  the  violence 
of  Smollett's  political  opinions  brought  him  in  collision  with 
the  law.  He  was  prosecuted  for  an  attack  on  Admiral  Knowles, 
was  fined  one  hundred  pounds,  and  imprisoned  for  three  months, 
during  which  time  he  continued  the  management  of  the  Critical 
Review,  and  in  his  editorial  capacity  managed  to  raise  up 
against  himself  a  whole  swarm  of  angry  politicians,  writers,  and 
doctors.  He  now  produced  his  novel  of  Sir  Lancelot  Greaves,  a 
most  unfortunate  and  feeble  effort  to  adapt  the  plot  and  leading 
idea  of  Don  Quixote  to  English  contemporary  life ;  and  wrote, 
with  extraordinary  rapidity,  his  History  of  England,  of  which 
the  ardent  and  partial  judgments  are  the  most  remarkable  fea- 
tures. In  a  Tour  in  France  and  Italy,  which  he  undertook  to 
divert  his  grief  under  the  loss  of  a  beloved  child,  Smollett  ex- 
hibits a  painful  and  almost  ludicrous  incapacity  to  appreciate 
the  beautiful,  sublime,  or  interesting  objects  he  met  with;  he 
"  travelled  from  Dan  to  Beersheba,  and  found  all  barren."  In  a 
now-forgotten  tale,  The  Adventures  of  an  Atom,  he  attacked 
Bute,  who  had  formerly  been  his  patron.  Completely  broken  in 
health  by  incessant  labor  and  continual  agitation,  he  at  last  re- 
tired to  die  at  Leghorn;  where,  in  spite  of  weakness,  exhaus- 
tion, and  suffering,  the  dying  genius  gave  forth  its  most  pleasing 
flash  of  comic  humor.  This  was  the  novel  of  Humphrey  Clinker, 
the  only  fiction  in  which  Smollett  adopted  the  epistolary  form, 
and  the  most  cordial,  comic,  and  laughable  of  them  all. 

373.    In  the  structure  of  his  fictions  Smollett  is  manifestly  in- 
ferior to  both  Richardson  and  Fielding;  his  novels  are  simply  a 


216  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  XX. 

series  of  striking,  grotesque,  farcical,  and  occasionally  pathetic 
scenes,  which  have  little  other  bond  of  union  than  the  fact  of 
their  being  threaded,  so  to  saj,  on  the  life  of  a  single  person. 
Yet  his  books  are  eminently  amusing ;  the  reader's  attention  is 
kept  awake  by  a  lively  succession  of  persons  and  events;  some 
of  which,  though  they  may  be  coarse  and  low-lived,  are  invari- 
ably vivid  and  life-like.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Smollett 
was  frequently  in  the  habit  of  transferring  to  his  novels  real 
adventures  of  his  own  life,  which  is  specially  true  of  his  inimi- 
table and  exquisitely  varied  sailor-characters,  from  Lieutenant 
Bowling  and  Ap  Morgan  in  the  first  novel,  through  the  rich  gal- 
lery of  oddities  in  his  later  works,  particularly  Commodore 
Trunnion  and  Pipes  in  Peregrine  Pickle.  As  a  rule  his  heroes 
have  but  little  to  attract  the  reader's  sympathy,  being  generally 
hard,  impudent,  selfish,  and  ungrateful  adventurers ;  but  in  the 
subordinate  persons,  and  especially  in  those  of  grotesque  but 
faithful  followers,  like  Strap  or  Pipes,  Smollett  shows  a  greater 
warmth  of  sentiment.  In  Humphrey  Clinker,  though  running 
over  with  fun  and  grotesque  incident,  there  is  a  riper  and  mel- 
lower tone  of  character-painting  than  is  to  be  found  in  his  pre- 
ceding works.  The  personages  of  Lismahago  and  Tabitha 
Bramble  are  inimitably  carried  out;  the  latter  is  indeed  perhaps 
the  most  finished  portrait  in  Smollett's  whole  gallery. 

374.  Smollett   possessed   considerable   poetical   talents.      He 
wrote  the  powerful  verses  entitled  the  Tears  of  Scotland,  which 
breathed  the  patriotic  indignation  of  a  generous  mind,  horror^ 
struck  by  the  cruelties  inflicted  by  the  orders  of  the  Duke  of 
Cumberland  after  the  battle  of  Culloden ;  a  poem  equally  hon- 
orable to  his  civil  courage  and  to  his  genius. 

375.  LAURENCE  STERNE  (1713-1768),  whose  character  was  as 
eccentric  as  his  works,  was  born  in  Ireland,  but  educated,  with 
the  assistance  of  some  relations  of  his  mother's  at  Cambridge. 
Entering   the  Church,  he   long   held   the   living   of  Sutton,  to 
which  he  afterwards  added  a  prebend's  stall  in  the  Cathedral  of 
York;    and  he  was  ultimately  advanced  to   the   rich   living   of 
Coxwold.  The  first  two  volumes  of  his  novel  of  Tristram  Shandy 
were  published  in  1761,  and  the  novelty  and  oddity  of  his  style 
instantly  raised  him   to  the   summit  of  popularity;    two  more 
volumes  appeared  in  the  following  year,  and  Sterne  became  for 
a  time  the   pet  and   lion  of  fashionable  London   society.     He 
made  two  tours  on  the  Continent,  the  first  in  France,  and  the 


A.  D.  1713-1768.  STERNE.  217 

second  in  France  and  Italy,  where  he  accumulated  the  materials 
incorporated  in  his  delightful  Sentimental  Journey,  intended  to 
form  a  part  of  his  romance,  but  which  is  generally  read  'as  an 
independent  work.  In  this  book  he  personates  his  favorite  char- 
acter Yorick,  a  mixture  of  the  humorist  and  the  sentimental 
observer.  He  died  alone  and  friendless  in  a  Bond-street  lodging- 
house,  attended  in  his  last  illness  by  mercenaries,  who  are  said 
to  have  plundered  him  of  such  trifles  as  he  possessed  —  a  com- 
fortless and  gloomy  ending,  which  he  had  himself  desired.  ' 
376.  His  works  consist  of  the  novel  of  Tristram  Shandy,  of 
the  Sentimentai  Journey,  and  of  a  collection  of  Sermons,  written 
in  the  odd  and  fantastic  style  which  he  brought  into  temporary 
vogue.  Tristram  Shandy,  though  nominally  a  romance  in  the 
biographical  form,  is  intentionally  irregular  and  capricious,  the 
imaginary  hero  never  making  his  appearance  at  all,  and  the 
story  consisting  of  a  series  of  sketches  and  episodes  introducing 
us  to  the  interior  of  an  English  country  family,  one  of  the  rich- 
est collections  of  oddities  that  genius  has  ever  delineated.  The 
narrative  is  written  partly  in  the  character  of  Yorick  (Sterne 
himself),  supposed  to  be  a  clergyman  and  a  humorist,  and 
partly  in  that  of  the  phantom-like  Tristram ;  and  the  most 
prominent  persons  are  Walter  Shandy,  a  retired  merchant,  the 
father  of  the  supposed  hero,  his  mother,  his  uncle  Toby  Shandy 
(a  veteran  officer),  and  his  servant  Corporal  Trim.  These  are 
all  conceived  and  executed  in  the  finest  and  most  Shakspearian 
spirit  of  humor,  tenderness,  and  observation ;  and  they  are 
supported  by  a  crowd  of  minor  yet  hardly  less  individual  por- 
traitures —  Obadiah,  Dr.  Slop,  the  Widow  Wadman,  Susanna, 
nay  down  to  the  "  foolish  fat  scullion."  Mr.  Shandy,  the  rest- 
less crotchety  philosopher,  is  delineated  with  consummate  skill, 
and  admirably  contrasted  with  the  simple  benevolence  and  pro- 
fessional enthusiasm  of  the  unequalled  Uncle  Toby,  a  personage 
belonging  to  the  same  category  of  creative  genius  as  Sancho  or 
as  Parson  Adams.  In  all  Sterne's  writings  there  is  a  great 
parade  of  obscure  and  quaint  erudition,  which  tends  powerfully 
to  give  an  original  flavor  to  his  stvle.  His  humor  and  his  pathos 
are  often  truly  admirable ;  and  he  possesses  in  a  high  degree 
that  rare  power,  found  only  in  the  greatest  humorists,  of  com- 
bining the  ludicrous  and  the  pathetic;  though  both  his  humor 
and  his  pathos  are  very  often  false  and  artificial.  His  episodes, 
as  the  often -quoted  Story  of  Lc  Ferre,  (196)  arc  related  with 


218  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.          CHAP.  XX, 

consummate  art  and  tenderness;  but  in  Sterne  —  probably  from 
his  vanity  and  deficiency  of  discrimination  —  there  is  no  me- 
dium between  excellence  and  failure.  He  is  an  acute  and  just 
observer  of  the  little  turns  of  gesture  and  expression,  and  makes 
his  characters  betray  their  idiosyncrasies  by  involuntary  touches, 
just  as  men  do  in  real  life. 

377.  The  most  charming  and  versatile  writer  of  the  eighteenth 
century  is  OLIVER  GOLDSMITH  (1728-1774),  whose  works  bear 
a  peculiar  stamp  of  gentle  grace  and  elegance.  (197-2OO) 
Born  at  the  village  of  Pallas  in  the  county  of  Longford,  the  son 
of  a  poor  curate  of  English  extraction,  in  1745  he  entered  the 
University  of  Dublin  in  the  humble  quality  of  sizar.  His  career 
there  was  one  of  the  strangest;  and  afteY  many  disheartening 
attempts  to  make  his  way  into  some  honorable  profession,  he 
began  those  travels  —  for  the  most  part  on  foot,  and  subsisting 
by  the  aid  of  his  flute  and  the  charity  given  to  a  poor  scholar  — 
which  successively  led  him  to  Leyden,  through  Holland,  France, 
Germany,  and  Switzerland,  and  even  to  Padua,  where  he  boasted 
that  he  received  a  medical  degree.  In  1756  he  found  his  way 
back  to  his  native  country ;  and  his  career  during  about  eight 
years  was  a  succession  of  desultory  struggles  with  famine ;  some- 
times he  acted  as  a  chemist's  shopman  in  London ;  sometimes 
as  an  usher  in  boarding-schools;  sometimes  as  a  practitioner  of 
medicine  among  "  the  beggars  in  Axe  Lane,"  as  he  expressed  it 
himself;  but  most  generally  as  a  bookseller's  hack.  His  literary 
apprenticeship  was  passed  in  writing  to  order  schoolbooks,  tales 
for  children,  prefaces,  indexes,  and  reviews  of  books  ;  and  in  con- 
tributing to  the  Monthly,  Critical,  and  Lady's  Review,  the  Brit- 
ish Magazine,  and  other  periodicals.  In  this  period  of  obscure 
drudgery  he  composed  some  of  his  most  charming  works,  or  at 
least  formed  that  inimitable  style  which  makes  him  the  rival  of 
Addison.  He  produced  the  Letters  from  a  Citizen  of  the  World, 
(107)  the  plan  of  which  is  imitated  from  Montesquieu's  Lettres 
Persanes,  giving  a  description  of  English  life  and  manners  in  the 
assumed  character  of  a  Chinese  traveller;  a  Life  of  Beau  Nash  ; 
and  a  short  and  gracefully  narrated  History  of  England,  in  the 
form  of  Letters  from  a  Nobleman  to  his  Son,  the  authorship  of 
which  was  ascribed  to  Lyttelton.  It  was  in  1764  that  the  publi- 
cation of  his  beautiful  poem  of  the  Traveller  caused  him  to 
emerge  from  this  slough  of  obscure  literary  drudgery ;  and  from 
this  period  Goldsmith's  career  was  one  of  uninterrupted  literary 


A.  D.  1728-1774.     OLIVER   GOLDSMITH.  219 

success,  though  his  folly  and  improvidence  kept  him  in  constant 
debt.  In  1766  appeared  the  Vicar  of  Wakefield,  that  masterpiece 
of  gentle  humor  and  delicate  tenderness ;  and  in  the  following 
year  his  first  comedy,  the  Goodnatured  Alan,  which  compara- 
tively failed  upon  the  stage  —  in  some  measure  from  its  very 
merits.  In  1768  Goldsmith  composed,  as  taskwork  for  the  book- 
sellers, the  History  of  Rome,  distinguished  by  its  extreme  super- 
ficiality of  information  and  want  of  research,  no  less  than  by 
enchanting  grace  of  style  and  vivacity  of  narration.  In  1770  he 
published  the  Deserted  Village,  the  companion  poem  to  the 
Traveller,  writte'n  in  some  measure  in  the  same  manner,  and 
not  less  touching  and  perfect :  and  in  1773  was  acted  his  comedy 
She  Stoops  to  Conquer,  one  of  the  gayest,  pleasantest,  and  most 
amusing  pieces  that  the  English  stage  can  boast.  Goldsmith 
was  now  one  of  the  most  popular  authors  of  his  time ;  his  society 
was  courted  by  the  wits,  artists,  statesmen,  and  writers,  who 
formed  a  brilliant  circle  round  Johnson  and  Reynolds ;  and  he 
became  a  member  of  the  famous  Literary  Club.  His  unconquer- 
able improvidence,  however,  still  kept  him  the  slave  of  book- 
sellers, who  obliged  him  to  waste  his  exquisite  talent  on  works 
hastily  thrown  off,  and  for  which  he  neither  possessed  the  requi- 
site knowledge  nor  could  make  the  necessary  researches ;  thus 
he  successively  put  forth  as  taskwork  the  History  of  Rngland, 
the  History  of  Greece,  and  the  History  of  Animated  Nature,  the 
two  former  works  being  mere  compilations  of  second-hand  facts, 
and  the  last  an  epitomized  translation  of  Buffon.  He  died  at  the 
age  of  forty-six,  deeply  mourned  by  the  brilliant  circle  of  friends 
to  which  his  very  weaknesses  had  endeared  him,  and  followed 
by  the  tears  and  blessings  of  many  wretches  whom  his  inex- 
haustible benevolence  had  relieved. 

i>78.  In  everything  Goldsmith  wrote,  prose  or  verse,  serious 
or  comic,  there  is  a  peculiar  delicacy  and  purity  of  sentiment, 
tingeing,  of  course,  the  language  and  diction  as  well  as  the 
thought.  No  quality  in  his  writings  is  more  striking  than  the 
union  of  grotesque  humor  with  a  sort  of  pensive  tenderness 
which  gives  to  his  verse  a  peculiar  character  of  gliding  melody 
and  grace.  The  two  poems  of  the  Traveller  (J.99)  and  the 
Deserted  Village  (2OO*)  will  ever  be  regarded  as  masterpieces 
of  sentiment  and  description.  The  light  yet  rapid  touch  with 
which,  in  the  former,  he  has  traced  the  scenery  and  the  natural 
peculiarities  of  various  countries,  will  be  admired  long  after  the 


220  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.  CHAP.  XX. 

reader  has  learned  to  neglect  the  false  social  theories  embodied 
in  his  deductions ;  and  in  the  latter  the  reader  lingers  over  the 
delicious  details  of  human  as  well  as  inanimate  nature  which 
the  poet  has  combined  into  the  lovely  pastoral  picture  of  "  sweet 
Auburn."  The  touches  of  tender  personal  feeling  which  he  has 
interwoven  with  his  description  are  all  characterized  by  a  sweet 
pensive  grace ;  while,  when  the  occasion  demands,  he  can  rise 
with  easy  wing  to  the  height  of  even  sublime  elevation. 

379.  The  Vicar  of  Wakefield,  in  spite  of  the  extreme  absurdi- 
ty and  inconsistency  of  its  plot,  is  one  of  those  works  that  the 
world  will  not  willingly  let  die.     The  gentle  and  quiet  humor 
embodied  in  the  simple  Dr.  Primrose,  the  delicate  yet  vigorous 
contrasts  of  character  in  the  other  personages,  the  atmosphere 
of  purity,    cheerfulness,    and   gayety,  which   envelops   all   the 
scenes  and  incidents,  insure  it  immortality.     Goldsmith's  two 
comedies  are  written  in  two  different  manners,  the  Goodnaturcd 
Man  being  a  comedy  of  character,  and  She  Stoops  to  Conquer  a 
comedy  of  intrigue.     The  merit  of  the  first  piece  chiefly  consists 
in  the  truly  laughable  personage  of  Croaker,  and  in  the  excel- 
lent scene  where  the  disguised  bailiffs  are  passed  off  on  Miss 
Richland  as  the  friends  of  Honeywood,  whose  house  and  person 
they  have  seized.    But  in  She  Stoops  to  Conquer  we  have  a  first- 
rate  specimen  of  the  comedy  of  intrigue,  where  the  interest 
mainly  depends  upon  a  tissue  of  lively  and  farcical  incidents, 
and  where   the  characters,  though  lightly  sketched,  form  a  gal- 
lery of  eccentric  pictures. 

380.  Of  Goldsmith's    lighter  fugitive   poems  the  Haunch  of 
Venison  is  a  model  of  easy  narrative  and  accurate  sketching  of 
commonplace  society;    and  Retaliation  consists  of  a  series  of 
slight  yet  delicate  portraits  of  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
literary  friends  of  the  poet,  thrown  off  with  a  hand  at  once  re- 
fined and  vigorous. 


A.  D.  1711-1776.          DAVID  HUME.  221 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

HISTORICAL,    MORAL,   POLITICAL,    AND    THEOLOGICAL 
WRITERS    OF   THE    EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY. 

381.  IN  accordance  with  that  peculiar  law  which  seems  to  gov- 
ern the  appearance,  at  particular  epochs,  of  several  great  names 
in  one  department  of  art  or  literature,  like  the   sculptors  of  the 
Periclean  age,  the  romantic  dramatists  in  that  of  Elizabeth,  and 
the  novelists  who  appeared  in  England  in  the  days  of  Richardson 
and  Fielding,   the  eighteenth  century  was  signalized  by  a  re- 
markable wealth  of  historical  genius,  and  gave  birth  to  Hume, 
Robertson,  and  Gibbon. 

382.  DAVID  HUME  (1711-1776)  was  born  of  an  ancient  Scot- 
tish family,  and  received  his  education  in  the  University  of  Ed- 
inburgh. (2O3,  2O4)     His  desires  and  ambition  were  set  upon 
literary  fame,  and  after  reluctantly  trying  the  profession  of  law 
and  the  pursuit  of  commerce,  he  lived  abroad  some  years,  de- 
voting himself  to  the   cultivation   of  moral   and  metaphysical 
science,  and  to  the  preparation  of  his  mind  for  future  historical 
labors.     In  1737  he  returned  to  England,  and  was  so  much  dis- 
couraged with  the  coldness  of  the  public  towards  his  first  moral 
and   metaphysical  productions,  that  he   at  one  time  meditated 
changing  his  name  and  expatriating  himself  for  ever.     In  1746 
and  the  following  year  a  gleam  of  success  shone  upon  him ;  he" 
entered  the  public  service,  and  was  employed   as   secretary  to 
General  St.  Clair  in  various  diplomatic  missions.     In  1752  he 
accepted  the  post  of  Librarian  to  the  Scottish  Faculty  of  Advo- 
cates, and  there  began  his  great  work,  the  History  of  England 
from   the  accession  of  the  Stuart  Dynasty  to  the  Revolution  of 
1688 ;  to  which  he  afterwards  added  in   successive  volumes  the 
earlier  history  from  the  invasion  of  Julius  Cssar  to  the  reign  of 
James  I.     Though  far  from  successful   at  first,  the  work  soon 
overcame  the  indifference  of  the  public,  and  rapidly  rose  to  the 
highest  popularity.     Hume's  reputation  was  now  solidly  estab- 


222  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.         CHAP.  XXI. 

lished ;  he  accompanied  as  secretary  the  embassy  of  General 
Conway  to  Paris,  where  he  became  one  of  the  lions  of  the  fash- 
ionable society  of  the  French  capital.  He  fulfilled  for  a  short 
time  the  still  higher  functions  of  Under-Secretary  of  State;  and 
retiring-  with  a  pension  passed  the  evening  of  his  life  in  philo- 
sophic tranquillity,  enjoying  the  respect  and  affection  which  his 
virtuous  and  amiable  qualities  attracted,  and  which  not  even  his 
scepticism  could  repel.  He  died  in  1776. 

383.  As  a  moral  and  metaphysical  writer  Hume  certainly  de- 
serves a  high  place  in  the  history  of  philosophy.  (2O4^     The 
prominent  feature  of  his  Treatise  on  Human  Nature,  published 
in  1738,  was  the   attempt  to    deduce  the   operations  of  the  mind 
entirely  from  the  two  sources  of  impressions  and   ideas,  which 
he  looks  upon  as  distinct,  and  his  denying  the  existence  of  any 
fundamental  difference  between  such  actions  as  we  call  virtuous 
and  vicious,  other  than  as   they  are  practically  found  to  be  con- 
ducive to  or  destructive  of  the   advantage  of  the  individual  or 
the  species. 

384.  The  History  of  England  is  a  book  of  very  high  value. 
In  a  certain  exquisite  ease  and  vivacity  of  narration  it  has  cer- 
tainly never  been  surpassed;  and  in  the  analysis  of  character  and 
the  appreciation  of  great  events  Hume's  singular  clearness  and 
philosophic  elevation  of  view  give  him   a  right  to  one  of  the 
foremost  places  among  modern  historians.     But  its   defects  are 
no  less  considerable.     Hume's  indolence  induced  him  to  remain 
contented  with  taking  his  facts  at  second-hand  from  preceding 
writers,  without  troubling  himself  about  accuracy.     He  shows  a 
strong  leaning  to  the   Stuart  dynasty,  and  even  to  the   Catholic 
church    as  opposed    to    Protestantism ;    for  he   belonged  to  the 
aristocratical    section    of   the    Scottish    people,  who    were   al- 
most uniformly  Jacobites;  and  thus  the  sceptical  reasoner  was 
inclined  from  personal   sympathies  to  opinions  precisely  con- 
trary to  those  which  he  might  have  been  expected  to  maintain. 

385.  Contemporary  with  Hume  was  his  countryman  WILLIAM 
ROBERTSON  (1721-1793),    distinguished,   like  him,    by  the   elo- 
quence of  his  narrative,  by  the  picturesque  power  of  delineating 
characters  and  events,  and  also  by  a  singular  dignity  and  purity 
of  style.  (2O5)     As   a  Presbyterian  pastor  he  was  highly  cele- 
brated for  his  eloquence  in  the  pulpit;  and  in  1762  was  elected 
Principal  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh.     He  produced  three 
great  historical  works,  the  History  of  Scotland,  embracing  the 


A.  D.  1737-1794.       EDWARD    GIBBON.  223 

reigns  of  the  unfortunate  Mary  and  her  son  James  VI.,  down  to 
the  accession  of  the  latter  to  the  throne  of  England,  the  History 
of  the  Reign  of  Charles  F.,  and  the  History  of  the  Discovery,  and 
first  Colonization  by  the  Spaniards,  of  America.  In  all  of  them 
we  perceive  a  rich  and  melodious  though  somewhat  artificial 
style,  great  though  not  always  accurate  research,  and  a  strong 
power  of  vivid  and  pathetic  description.  Yet  though  many  of 
the  general  disquisitions  prefixed  to  or  introduced  in  Robertson's 
history,  are  marked  by  largeness  of  view  and  lucidity  of  arrange- 
ment, his  account  of  many  episodes  of  the  life  of  Charles  V., 
and  in  particular  that  of  his  retirement  to  San  Yuste,  contains 
much  of  the  romantic  and  theatrical  inaccuracy  which  recent 
investigations  have  dispelled.  But  in  spite  of  these  defects 
Robertson's  name  will  always  retain  an  honorable  place  among 
the  historians  of  England. 

380.  By  far  the  greatest  name  in  English  historical  literature 
is  that  of  EDWARD  GIBBON  (1737-1794)-  (2O6-2O9)  Descended 
from  an  ancient  family,  he  was  born  at  Putney  near  London  in 
1737,  and  was  the  grandson  of  a  merchant  of  large  fortune.  In 
consequence  of  his  constitutional  delicacy  of  health  his  educa- 
tion was  at  first  neglected;  but  he  gradually  acquired  an 
insatiable  appetite  for  reading  of  all  kinds,  which  at  length  con- 
centrated itself  upon  historical  literature.  At  the  early  age  of  fif- 
teen he  was  placed  at  Oxford,  where  he  remained  only  fourteen 
months.  On  his  embracing  the  Catholic  faith,  while  still  at  the 
University,  his  father  sent  him  to  Lausanne,  where  he  was 
placed  under  the  care  of  M.  Pavillard,  an  eminent  Swiss  theolo- 
gian. He  subsequently  re-entered  the  Protestant  Church; 
though  his  religious  belief  from  this  time  forward  was  little 
more  than  a  sort  of  philosophical  Deism.  In  Switzerland,  how- 
ever, he  commenced  that  course  of  systematic  study,  which 
gradually  filled  his  mind  with  immeasurable  stores  of  sacred 
and  profane  learning :  and  here  too  he  acquired  that  strong 
sympathy  with  French  modes  of  thought  that  makes  him  the 
least  national  of  all  our  great  authors.  Indeed  the  first-fruits 
of  his  pen  actually  appeared  in  French,  an  essay  on  the  Study 
of  Literature.  Between  1763  and  1765  he  travelled  over  France, 
Switzerland,  and  Italy;  and  wrhile  at  Rome  in  1764,  the  idea  of 
writing  the  history  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  mighty  em- 
pire first  flashed  upon  his  mind.  Returning  to  England  in  1765 
he  set  strenuously  to  work  on  the  composition  of  his  history, 


224  ENGLISH  LITEBATURE.         CHAP.  XXI. 

the  first  volume  of  which  appeared  in  the  following  year,  and 
was  received  not  only  with  the  applause  of  the  learned,  but  with 
universal  popularity  among  the  fashionable  world  and  the 
ladies.  At  various  intervals  until  the  year  1787  appeared  the 
successive  volumes,  each  of  which  excited  the  admiration  and 
enthusiasm  which  the  grandeur  of  the  work  was  so  calculated  to 
inspire. 

387.  As  member  for  Liskeard,  Gibbon  supported  Lord  North 
with  a  silent  vote  during  the  whole  course  of  the  American  War, 
and  was  rewarded  with  the  post  of  one  of  the  Lords  Commis- 
sioners of  Trade,  which  he  held  till  the  abolition  of  the  office  in 
1782.     In  1783  Gibbon  established  himself  at  Lausanne  in  the 
comfortable  house  which  he  had  purchased  on  the  lovely  shore 
of  Lake  Leman.     This  was  perhaps  the  happiest  part  of  his 
life :  he  was  able  to  devote  himself  in  tranquillity  to  his  mightv 
task,    and   his   leisure   hours  were  enlivened   with   intellectual 
society.     At  length  his  residence   at  Lausanne  becoming   dis- 
agreeable  in  consequence  of  the  agitation  which  followed  the 
outbreak  of  the  French  Revolution,  he  returned  to  London  in 
1793  and  died  there  in  the  following  year. 

388.  His  History  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Em- 
pire is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  greatest  monuments  of  industry 
and  genius.     It  embraces,  exclusive  of  the  introductory  sketch 
of  Roman  history  from  the  time  of  Augustus,  a  period  of  up- 
wards of  thirteen  centuries,  that  is,  from  about  180  to  1453  A.  D. 
This  immense  space  included  not  only  the  manhood  and  the  de- 
crepitude of  the  Roman  Empire,  but  the  irruption  of  the  Barba- 
rian  nations,    the  establishment  of  the  Byzantine    power,    the 
reorganization  of  the  European   nations,  the  foundation  of  the 
religious  and  political  system  of  Mahomedanism,  and  tfie  Cru- 
sades.    Nor  was  the  complexity  of  the  subject  less  formidable 
than  its  extent :  the  materials  for  much  of  its  treatment  were  to 
be  painfully  sifted  from  the  rubbish  of  the  Byzantine  annalists, 
and  the  wild  exaggerations  of  the   Eastern  chroniclers.     From 
this  immense  chaos  were  to  be  deduced  light,  order,  and  regu- 
larity ;  and  the  historian  was  to  be  familiar  with  the  whole  range 
of  philosophy,  science,  politics,  and  war.     Gibbon  is  one  of  the 
most  dangerous  enemies  by  whom  the  Christian  faith  was  ever 
assailed  —  he  was  the  more  dangerous  because  he  was  insidious. 
He  does  not  formally  deny  the  evidence  upon  which  is  based 
the   structure   of  Christianity,  but  he  indirectly   includes  that 


A.  D.  1709-1784.      SAMUEL  JOHNSON.      •  225 

system  in  the  same  category  with  the  mythologies  of  paganism. 
But  the  accusations  of  having  intentionally  distorted  facts  or 
garbled  authorities  he  has  refuted  in  the  Vindication  in  which 
he  replied  to  his  opponents;  and  the  deliberate  opinion  of 
Guizot,  whom  no  one  can  accuse  of  indifference  to  religion,  will 
be  conclusive  as  to  Gibbon's  merit  on  this  point.  His  style  is 
remarkably  pompous,  elaborate,  and  sonorous :  originally  arti- 
ficial, it  had  gradually  become  the  natural  garb  of  his  thoughts. 
His  descriptions  of  events,  as  of  battles,  of  nations,  of  individ- 
ual characters,  are  wonderfully  life-like  and  animated;  and  his 
chief  sin  against  good  taste  is  a  somewhat  too  gorgeous  and 
highly  colored  tone.  His  worst  fault  is  a  peculiar  and  most 
offensive  delight  in  dwelling  upon  scandalous  and  immoral 
stories;  and  this  tendency  becomes  doubly  odious  when  ex- 
hibited in  combination  with  Gibbon's  solemn  and  majestic 
language. 

389.  Perhaps  the  most  striking  figure  in  the  social  and  lit- 
erary history  of  this  period  is  that  of  SAMUEL  JOHNSON  (1709- 
1784).  (21O-21&)  He  was  the  son  of  a  learned  but  poor  and 
struggling  provincial  bookseller  in  Lichfield;  and  he  exhibited, 
from  his  very  childhood,  the  same  singular  union  of  mental 
power  and  constitutional  indolence,  ambition  and  hypochondri- 
acal  gloom,  which  distinguished  him  through  life.  On  receiv- 
ing a  promise  of  assistance  from  a  neighboring  gentleman,  he 
carried  to  Pembroke  College,  Oxford,  an  amount  of  scholarship 
very  rare  at  his  age.  Here  he  remained  about  three  years ;  but 
his  father's  affairs  being  in  hopeless  confusion,  and  the  promises 
of  assistance  not  being  fulfilled,  he  was  obliged  to  leave  the 
University  without  a  degree,  and  at  his  father's  death  entered 
upon  the  hard  career  of  teacher  in  various  provincial  schools. 
Finally  after  unsuccessfully  attempting  to  keep  a  school  himself 
at  Edial,  near  Lichfield,  he  began  that  tremendous  struggle  with 
labor  and  want,  which  continued  during  thirty  years.  His  first 
literary  undertaking  was  a  translation  of  Father  Lobo's  Travels 
in  Abyssinia  ;  but  his  hopes  of  success  meeting  with  little  but 
disappointment,  he  determined  to  launch  upon  the  great  ocean 
of  London  literary  life.  Already  encumbered  with  a  wife,  a 
lady  old  enough  to  be  his  mother,  without  fortune,  without 
friends,  of  singularly  uncouth  exterior,  Johnson  entered  upon 
the  career  —  then  perhaps  at  its  lowest  ebb  of  profit  and  respec- 
tability —  of  a  bookseller'*  hack,  or  literary  drudge.  He  ba- 


22G  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.        CHAP.  XXI. 

came  a  contributor  to  divers  journals,  and  particularly  to  the 
Gentleman's  Magazine,  then  carried  on  by  its  founder,  Cave; 
and  as  an  obscure  laborer  for  the  press  he  furnished  criticisms, 
prefaces,  translations,  in  short  all  kinds  of  humble  literary  work, 
and  ultimately  supplied  reports  of  the  proceedings  in  Parlia- 
ment, though  the  names  of  the  speakers,  in  obedience  to  the 
law  which  then  rendered  it  penal  to  reproduce  the  debates,  were 
disguised  under  imaginary  titles.  He  first  emerged  into  popu- 
larity in  1738  by  the  publication  of  his  London,  an  admirable 
paraphrase  of  the  third  satire  of  Juvenal,  in  which  he  adapts 
the  sentiments  and  topics  of  the  great  Roman  poet  to  the  neg- 
lect of  letters  in  London,  and  the  humiliations  which  an  honest 
man  must  encounter  in  a  society  where  foreign  quacks  and  na- 
tive scoundrels  could  alone  hope  for  success.  In  1744  he  pub- 
lished the  Life  of  Savage,  that  unhappy  poet  whose  career  was 
so  extraordinary,  and  whose  vices  were  not  less  striking  than 
his  talents.  Johnson  had  known  him  well,  and  they  had  often 
wandered  supperless  and  homeless  about  the  streets  at  midnight. 
Indeed,  no  .literary  life  was  ever  a  more  correct  exemplification 
of  the  truth  of  his  own  majestic  line:  "slow  rises  worth,  by 
poverty  depressed." 

390.  From  1747  to  1755  Johnson  was  engaged  in  the  execution 
of  his  laborious  undertaking,  the  compilation  of  his  great  Dic- 
tionary of  the  English  Language,  which  long  occupied  the 
place  among  us  of  the  Dictionary  of  the  Academy  in  France 
and  Spain.  (2 IT)  The  etymological  part  of  this  great  work, 
in  consequence  of  Johnson  sharing  the  then  almost  universal 
ignorance  of  the  Teutonic  languages,  is  totally  without  value; 
but  the  accuracy  and  comprehensiveness  of  the  definitions, 
and  above  all,  the  interesting  quotations  adduced  to  exemplify 
the  different  senses  of  the  words,  render  it  a  book  that  may 
always  be  read  with  pleasure.  While  engaged  in  this  task  he 
diverted  his  mind  by  the  publication  of  the  Vanity  of  Human 
Wishes,  (210)  a  companion  to  his  London,  (215}  being  a  sim- 
ilar imitation  of  the  tenth  satire  of  his  Roman  prototype.  This 
is  written  in  a  loftier,  more  solemn  and  declamatory  style  than 
the  preceding  poem,  and  is  a  fine  specimen  of  Johnson's  digni- 
fied but  somewhat  gloomy  rhetoric.  Instead  of  the  fall  of  Seja- 
nus,  Johnson  has  introduced  the  no  less  impressive  picture  of 
the  disgrace  of  Wolsey :  and  his  episode  of  Charles  XII.  is  no 
unworthy  counterpart  to  the  portrait  of  Hannibal.  At  about 


A.  D.  1709-1784.      SAMUEL  JOHNSON.  227 

the  same  time  he  brought  out  upon  the  stage  the  tragedy  of 
Irene,  which  had  long  been  in  vain  awaiting  the  opportunity  of 
representation.  Its  success  was  insignificant,  and  indeed  could 
not  have  been  otherwise,  for  the  plot  of  the  piece  is  totally  de- 
void of  interest  and  probability;  there  is  no  discrimination  of 
character,  no  painting  of  passion,  and  the  work  consists  of  a 
series  of  lofty  moral  declamations  in  Johnson's  labored  and 
rhetorical  style. 

301.  Johnson  founded,  and  carried  on  alone,  two  periodical 
papers  in  the  style  that  Addison  and  Steele  had  rendered  so 
popular.  These  were  the  Rambler  (212}  and  the  Idler,  the 
former  of  which  continued  to  be  published  from  1750  until  1752, 
and  the  latter  from  1758  until  1760.  The  ease,  grace,  pleasantry, 
and  variety  which  gave  such  charm  to  the  Tatler  and  Spectator 
are  totally  incompatible  with  the  heavy,  antithetical,  ponderous 
manner  of  Johnson ;  and  his  good  sense,  piety,  and  sombre 
tone  of  morality  are  but  a  poor  substitute  for  the  mite  ingenium 
and  knowledge  of  the  world  displayed  in  his  models.  This 
species  of  periodical  essay-writing,  which  exerted  so  powerful 
an  influence  on  taste  and  manners  in  the  eighteenth  century, 
may  be  said  to  terminate  with  the  Idler,  though  continued  with 
gradually  increasing  want  of  originality  by  other  writers.  John- 
son's mother  died  in  17^9;  and  he  wrote  with  extraordinary 
rapidity,  and  for  the  purpose  of  raising  funds  for  her  funeral, 
his  once-celebrated  moral  tale,  Rasselas,  Prince  of  Abyssinia. 
The  manners  and  scenery  of  this  storv  are  neither  those  of 
oriental,  nor  of  any  other  known  country,  and  the  book  is  little 
else  but  a  series  of  dialogues  and  reflections,  embodying  the 
author's  ideas  on  an  immense  variety  of  subjects  connected  with 
art,  literature,  society,  and  philosophy,  and  his  lofty,  but  gloomy 
and  discouraging  principles  of  ethics  and  religion.  It  was  not 
till  1762,  when  the  philosopher  had  reached  the  age  of  fifty-three, 
that  he  emerged  from  the  constant  poverty  which  had  hitherto 
almost  overwhelmed  him,  and  against  which  he  had  so  valiantly 
struggled.  At  the  accession  of  George  III.  the  Government 
hoped  to  gain. popularity  by  showing  some  favor  to  art  and  let- 
ters ;  and  Johnson  was  gratified  by  Lord  Bute  with  a  pension  of 
three  hundred  pounds  a  year.  He  now  found  himself,  for  the 
first  time  in  his  life,  placed  above  want,  and  was  able  to  indulge 
not  only  his  constitutional  indolence,  but  that  noble  charity  and 
benevolence  which  transformed  his  dwelling  into  a  sort  of  asy- 
lum for  helpless  indigence. 


228  ENGLISH  LITEEATUEE.         CHAP.  XXL 

392.  At  this  period  of  his  life  Johnson  became  acquainted  with 
JAMES  BOSWELL  (1740-1795),  whose  biography  of  the  old  sage  is 
perhaps  the  most  perfect  and  interesting  account  of  a  literary  life 
and  a  literary  epoch  which  the  world  has  yet  seen.  Boswell  was 
a  young  Scottish  advocate  of  good  family  and  fortune;  and 
though  he  was  a  vain,  tattling,  frivolous  busybody,  his  sincere 
admiration  for  Johnson  won  the  old  moralist's  heart;  and  he  has 
produced  not  only  the  most  lively  and  vivid  portrait  of  the 
person,  manners,  and  conversation  of  Johnson,  but  the  most  ad- 
mirable picture  of  the  society  amid  which  he  played  so  brilliant 
a  part.  Among  the  most  celebrated  social  meetings  of  that  age 
of  clubs  was  the  society  founded  by  Johnson,  and  in  which  his 
friends  Reynolds,  Burke,  Garrick,  Bishop  Percy,  Goldsmith, 
Bennet  Langton,  Beauclerc,  and  others,  were  prominent  figures. 
Johnson's  powers  of  conversation  were  extraordinary;  he  de- 
lighted in  discussion,  and  had  acquired  by  constant  practice  the 
art  of  expressing  himself  with  pointed  force  and  elegance ;  and 
his  muscular  and  idiomatic  expression  formed  an  appropriate 
vehicle  for  his  weighty  thoughts,  his  apt  illustrations,  and  his 
immense  stores  of  reading  and  observation.  This  was  perhaps 
the  most  brilliant  and  the  happiest  portion  of  his  life.  He 
made  the  acquaintance  of  the  family  of  Thrale,  a  rich  brewer  and 
a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons,  whose  wife  was  equally 
famous  for  her  own  talents  and  for  the  bright  intellectual  society 
she  loved  to  assemble  round  her,  and  under  whose  roof  Johnson 
enjoyed  all  that  friendship  and  respect,  aided  by  great  wealth, 
could  give.  This  connection,  which  lasted  for  sixteen  years, 
gave  Johnson  thejopportunity  of  frequenting  refined  society;  and 
in  the  company  of  the  Thrales  he  made  several  excursions  to 
different  parts  of  England,  and  once  indeed  as  far  as  Paris.  His 
edition  of  Shakspeare,  which  after  many  delays  appeared  in 
1765,  cannot  be  said  to  have  added  to  his  reputation;  indeed, 
with  the  exception  of  an  occasional  happy  remai-k,  and  a  sen- 
sible selection  from  the  commentaries  of  preceding  annotators, 
it  is  quite  unworthy  of  him.  In  1773  Johnson  undertook,  in 
company  with  his  friend  Boswell,  an  expedition  to  the  Heb- 
rides, (214-)  which  not  only  enabled  him  to  make  acquaintance 
with  Scotland  and  the  Scots,  and  thus  to  dissipate  many  of  his 
old  prejudices  against  the  country  and  the  people,  but  afforded 
him  the  opportunity  of  exercising  his  observation  on  a  region 
entirely  new  to  him.  The  volume  in  which  he  gives  an  account 


A.  D.  1731-1797.        EDMUND  BURKE.  229 

of  his  impressions  contains  many  and  interesting  characteristic 
passages.  His  last  work  of  any  consequence,  which  is  also  un- 
questionably his  best,  was  the  Lives  of  the  Poets,  (213)  originat- 
ing in  the  proposal  made  to  him  by  several  publishers  that  he 
should  write  a  few  lines  of  biographical  and  critical  preface  to 
the  collected  works  of  the  English  poets,  of  which  they  were  pre- 
paring an  edition.  Johnson  undertook  the  task,  and  performed 
it  with  such  skill,  and  poured  forth  so  abundantly  the  stores  of 
his  sound  sense  and  acute  reflection,  that  these  lives  are  not  only 
•one  of  the  most  amusing  books  in  the  language,  but  contain,  in 
spite  of  the  narrowness  of  the  author's  literary  creed,  innumer- 
able passages  of  the  happiest  and  most  original  criticism,  par- 
ticularly in  treating  of  those  writers  who,  belonging  to  what  is 
called  the  classical  or  artificial  school,  exhibit  characteristics 
which  Johnson  was  capable  of  appreciating.  His  remarks  upon 
the  poetry  of  Cowley,  Waller,  and  Pope,  are  admirable ;  and  his 
immense  knowledge  of  life,  and  sharp  and  weighty  sense,  have 
filled  his  pages  with  striking  and  valuable  observations.  On 
December  13,  1784,  this  good  man  and  vigorous  writer  died,  after 
suffering  severely  from  dropsy  and  a  complication  of  disorders.; 
and  a  week  afterwards  his  body  was  buried  in  Westminster  Ab- 
bey. Johnson  was  a  singular  mixture  of  prejudice  and  liberality, 
of  scepticism  and  credulity,  of  bigotry  and  candor :  and  with 
that  paradoxical  strangeness  which  pervades  all  his  personality, 
we  know  him  better,,  and  admire  him  more,  in  the  unadorned 
records  which  Boswell  has  given  of  his  conversational  triumphs, 
than  in  those  rhetorical  and  elaborate  writings  which  his  con- 
temporaries thought  so  magnificent,  but  which  more  recent  gen- 
erations seem  likely  to  condemn  to  comparative  oblivion. 

393.  EDMUND  BURKE  (1731-1797)  was  a  man  of  powerful  and 
versatile  genius,  carrying  the  fervor  and  imagery  of  a  great 
orator  into  philosophical  discussion,  and  uniting  in  himself  the 
highest  qualities  of  the  statesmen,  the  writer,  and  the  philoso- 
pher. His  predominant  quality  was  a  burning  enthusiasm  for 
whatever  object  attracted  his  sympathies,  and  in  the  service  of 
this  enthusiasm  he  impressed  all  the  disciplined  forces  of  his 
learning,  his  logic,  and  his  historical  and  political  knowl- 
edge. He  was  the  son  of  a  Dublin  attorney;  came  early 
to  England  to  study  law,  but  commenced  his  career  as  a 
miscellaneous  writer  in  magazines.  He  was  the  founder 
and  first  author  of  the  Annual  Register,  a  useful  epitome 


230  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.         CHAP.  XXI. 

of  political  and  general  facts;  and  gained  his  first  reputation  by 
his  Vindication  of  Natural  Society,  an  ironical  imitation  of  the 
style  and  sentiments  of  Lord  Bolingbroke ;  which  was  followed 
a  few  months  afterwards  by  his  Essay  on  the  Sublime  and  Beau- 
tiful. (218}  a  short  treatise  in  which  ingenuity  is  more  percep- 
tible than  solidity  of  reasoning.  He  now  became  a  leading 
member  of  the  brilliant  literary  circle  which  surrounded  Johnson, 
who,  jealous  as  he  was  of  his  own  social  supremacy,  confessed 
that  in  Burke  he  encountered  a  fully  equal  antagonist.  He 
began  his  political  career  as  Secretary  to  Hamilton  in  Ireland, 
and  he  was  afterwards  attached  in  the  same  capacity  to  Lord 
Rockingham.  He  sat  in  the  House  of  Commons  successively 
for  Wendover,  Bristol,  (219}  and  Malton,  and  was  one  of  the 
most  prominent  debaters  during  the  agitated  period  of  the  Amer- 
ican War  and  the  French  Revolution.  For  a  short  time  he  held 
the  lucrative  post  of  Paymaster  of  the  Forces  in  the  second  Rock- 
ingham administration.  The  culminating  points  of  his  political 
life  were  his  share  in  the  famous  India  Bill,  which  was  to  en- 
tirely change  the  administration  of  our  Eastern  dependencies, 
and  the  part  he  played  in  the  trial  of  Warren  Hastings,  which 
lasted  from  1786  to  1795,  and  terminated  with  the  acquittal  of  the 
accused.  (221}  In  this  majestic  and  solemn  scene,  where  a 
great  nation  sat  in  public  judgment  upon  a  great  criminal, 
Burke  played  perhaps  the  most  prominent  part:  he  was  one  of 
the  managers  of  the  impeachment  in  the  name  of  the  Commons, 
and  his  speech  is  one  of  the  sublimest  philippics  that  ancient  or 
modern  oratory  can  show.  The  Reign  of  Terror  in  France 
transformed  Burke  from  a  constitutional  Whig  into  a  Tory,  but 
at  the  same  time  animated  his  genius  to  some  of  its  most  un- 
rivalled bursts  of  eloquence.  His  finest  written  compositions  are 
his  Letter  to  a  Noble  Lord,  (222}  in  which  he  defends  himself 
against  the  aspersions  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  who  had  attacked 
him  for  accepting  a  pension;  his  Reflections  on  the  French  Revo- 
lution, (220}  and  his  Letter  on  a  Regicide  Peace.  In  Parlia- 
ment, though  his  speeches  were  perhaps  unequalled  for  splendor 
of  illustration,  for  an  almost  supernatural  acuteness  of  political 
foresight,  and  for  the  profoundest  analysis  of  constitutional 
principles,  he  was  often  less  popular  than  many  inferior  de- 
baters :  he  spoke  over  the  heads  of  his  audience,  but  he  will  ever 
be  regarded  as  one  of  the  greatest  orators  and  statesmen  of  any 
age  or  country. 


A.  D.  1723-1805.    ADAM  SMITH.    PALEY.  231 

394.  From  about  the  beginning  of  1769,  and  with  occasional 
interruptions  down  to  1772,  there  appeared  in  the  "Public  Ad- 
vertiser," one  of  the  leading  London  journals,  then  published  by 
Woodfall,  a  series  of  Letters,  for  the  most  part  signed  JUNIUS. 
(223*)  Their  attack  was  directed  against  the  great  public  men  of 
the  day,  more  especially  the  Dukes  of  Grafton  and  Bedford;  and 
they  exhibited  so  much  weight  and  dignity  of  style,  and  so 
minute  an  acquaintance  with  the  details  of  party  tactics,  and 
breathed  such  a  lofty  tone  of  constitutional  principle,  combined 
with  such  a  bitterness,  and  even  ferocity  of  personal  invective, 
that  their  influence  was  unbounded.  The  whole  annals  of  polit- 
ical controversy  show  nothing  so  bitter  and  terrible  as  the  per- 
sonalities and  invectives  of  Junius,  which  are  rendered  more 
formidable  by  the  lofty  dignity  of  the  language,  and  by  the  mod- 
erate and  constitutional  principles  which  he  professes  to  main- 
tain. These  letters  will  always  be  regarded  as  masterpieces  in 
their  particular  style.  Burke,  Hamilton,  Francis,  Lyttelton,  and 
Lord  George  Sackville  have  been  successively  fixed  upon  as  the 
writer;  but  of  these  Sir  Philip  Francis  appears  to  have  the 
strongest  suffrages. 

393.  ADAM  SMITH  (1723-1790)  was  the  founder,  in  England, 
of  the  science  of  Political  Economy.  He  was  a  Scotchman,  and 
successively  Professor  of  Logic  and  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  the 
University  of  Glasgow.  His  most  important  work  is  the  In- 
quiry into  the  Nature  and  Causes  of  the  Wealth  of  Nations, 
(224}  the  fruit  of  ten  years  of  study  and  investigation,  which 
laid  the  foundation  for  modern  economic  science.  It  was  the 
first  systematic  treatise  produced  in  England  upon  this  most 
important  subject;  and  though  not  free  from  erroneous  deduc- 
tions, was  the  most  valuable  contribution  ever  made  to  a  science, 
then  almost  in  its  infancy,  which  was  destined,  thanks  in  a  great 
measure  to  his  clear  and  logical  reasoning  and  abundant  and 
popular  illustration,  to  exert  an  immense  and  beneficial  influ- 
ence on  legislation  and  commerce.  His  moral  and  metaphysical 
theories  are  now  nearly  forgotten,  but  his  Inquiry  will  ever  re- 
main the  alphabet  or  text-book  of  the  important  science  of  which 
he  was  the  pioneer. 

390.  The  most  prominent  names  in  the  English  theological 
philosophy  of  the  eighteenth  century  are  those  of  BISHOP  BUT- 
LER (1692-1752)  and  WILLIAM  PALEY  (1743-1805).  The  former 
is  more  remarkable  for  the  severe  and  coherent  logic  with  which 


232  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.        CHAP.  XXI. 

he  demonstrates  his  conclusions,  the  latter  for  the  consummate 
skill  with  which  he  popularized  the  abstruser  arguments  of  his 
predecessors.  Butler's  principal  work  is  The  Analogy  of  Re- 
ligion Natural  and  Revealed  to  the  Constitution  and  Course  of 
Nature,  (181}  in  which  he  examines  into  the  resemblance  be- 
tween the  existence  and  attributes  of  God,  as  proved  by  argu- 
ments drawn  from  the  works  of  Nature,  and  shows  that  that 
existence  and  those  attributes  are  in  no  way  incompatible  with 
the  notions  conveyed  to  us  by  Revelation.  Paley's  books  are 
numerous,  and  all  excellent:  the  principal  of  them  are  Elements 
of  Moral  and  Political  Philosophy,  the  Horce  Paulina,  (225} 
the  Evidences  of  Christianity,  and  the  wonderful  production  of 
his  old  age,  the  Treatise  on  Natural  Theology.  It  will  be  seen 
from  the  titles  of  these  books  over  what  an  immense  extent  of 
moral  and  theological  philosophy  Paley's  mind  had  travelled. 
For  clearness,  animation,  and  easy  grace,  the  style  of  Paley  has 
rarely  been  equalled. 

397.  If  the  palm  of  merit  is  to  be  awarded  less  to  the  preten- 
sion of  a  literary  work  than  to  a  universal  popularity  arising 
from  a  consummate  charm  of  execution,  then  the  fame  of  GIL- 
BERT WHITE  (1720-1793)  is  to  be  coveted  little  less  eagerly  than 
that  of  Izaak  Walton.     White  was  educated  at  Oxford,  where  he 
became  a  fellow  of  Oriel  College ;  but,  declining  all  college  liv- 
ings, he  resided  in  his  native  village  of  Selborne,  in  Hampshire, 
and  there  devoted  his  happy  and  tranquil  life  to  the  observation 
of  nature.    In  a  series  of  letters  he  has  registered  every  phenom- 
enon both  of  animal  and  vegetable  life,  as  well  as  of  scenery 
and  meteorology,  which  came  under  the  eye  of  a  most  curious, 
patient,  and  loving  observer;  and  a  thousand  details,  so  slight 
or  so  familiar  as  to  escape  the  attention  of  previous  naturalists, 
have  been  chronicled  with  exquisite  grace,  and  form  valuable 
contributions  to  science.     Every  change  of  weather,  every  cir- 
cumstance in  the  habits  of  birds,  beasts,  and  insects,  were  noted 
by  him  with  an  interest  and  enthusiasm'  that  captivate  the  dull- 
est reader ;  and  the  Natural  History  of  Selborne  has  made  at 
least  as  many  naturalists  as  Robinson  Crusoe  has  made  sailors. 

398.  Among  the  vast  crowd  of  less  noticeable  writers  who 
might  claim  a  place  in  this  chapter,  a  few  produced  works  that 
still  possess  some  value,  though  they  are  comparatively  but  little 
known.     In  1764  LORD  LYTTELTON  (1709-1773),  slightly  distin* 
guished  as  a  poet,  and  to  some  extent  as  a  statesman,  published 


A.  D.  1709-1773.    LYTTELTON.    CHESTERFIELD.      233 

a  History  of  Henry  //.,  which  is  noteworthy  as  being  the  most 
elaborate  and  minute  work  yet  written  on  one  of  the  most  mo- 
mentous reigns  in  the  English  Annals,  and  as  being  one  of  the 
earliest  attempts  made  in  the  direction  of  a  sound  system  of 
historical  criticism.  SIR  WILLIAM  BLACKSTONE'S  Commentaries 
on  the  La-ws  of  England  is  still  the  only  popular  compendium 
of  our  constitutional  and  legal  principles  and  usages.  The  Ele- 
ments of  Criticism  of  LORD  KAMES,  The  Philosophy  of  Rhetoric 
of  DR.  GEORGE  CAMPBELL,  remain,  in  spite  of  many  publica- 
tions on  the  same  subjects  since  their  time,  standard  authorities 
in  their  respective  departments.  The  fame  of  LORD  CHESTER- 
FIELD'S Letters,  which  was  almost  unparalleled  when  they  were 
first  published,  is  not  extinct  even  yet;  nor  was  it  altogether 
unde,'»erved,  let  Dr.  Johnson  say  what  he  will. 


234  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.         CHAP.  XXII. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE    DAWN    OF   ROMANTIC    POETRY. 

890.  THE  great  revolution  in  popular  taste  and  sentiment, 
which  substituted  what  is  called  the  romantic  type  in  literature 
for  the  cold  and  clear-cut  artificial  spirit  of  that  classicism  which 
is  exhibited  in  its  highest  form  in  the  writings  of  Pope,  was, 
like  all  powerful  and  durable  movements,  whether  in  politics  or 
in  letters,  gradual.  The  mechanical  perfection  of  the  poetry  of 
the  age  of  Queen  Anne  had  been  imitated  with  such  success, 
that  every  versifier  had  caught  the  trick  of  melody  and  the  neat 
antithetical  opposition  of  thought;  and  indications  soon  began 
to  be  perceptible  of  a  tendency  to  seek  for  subjects  and  forms  of 
expression  in  a  wider,  more  passionate,  and  more  natural  sphere 
of  nature  and  emotion.  In  MATTHEW  GREEN'S  (1697-1737) 
truly  original  poem,  called  The  Spleen,  in  the  Minstrel  of  JAMES 
BEATTIE  (1735-1803),  in  the  striking  meditative  lines  entitled 
The  Grave  (226)  by  ROBERT  BLAIR  (1699-1746)  this  tendency 
is  perceptible,  and  may  be  in  some  measure  ascribed  to  the 
weariness  inspired  by  the  eternal  repetition  of  the  neat  and 
epigrammatic  ingenuity  which  had  gradually  become  a  mere 
far-off  echo  of  Pope. 

400.  JAMES  THOMSON  (1700-1748),  the  poet  who  connects  the 
age  of  Pope  with  that  of  Crabbe,  was  born  in  a  rural  and  re- 
tired corner  of  Scotland,  and  after  receiving  his  education  at 
Edinburgh,  came  to  London  in  1725,  carrying  with  him  the  un- 
finished sketch  of  his  poem  of  Winter.  (228}  This  work  ap- 
peared in  1726,  and  after  a  short  time  was  received  with  great 
favor.  Summer  was  given  to  the  world  in  the  succeeding  year; 
and  Thomson  then  without  delay  issued  proposals  for  the  com- 
pletion of  the  whole  cycle  of  poems,  Spring-  and  Autumn  (227) 
being  still  wanting  to  fill  up  the  round  of  the  Seasons.  In  1733 
the  Lord  Chancellor  Talbot,  to  whose  son  Thomson  had  been 
for  some  time  tutor,  appointed  him  to  a  sinecure  office  in  the 
of  Chancery;  and  even  when  he  lost  this  post  on  the 


A.  D.  1700-1748.        JAMES   THOMSON.  235 

death  of  the  minister,  its  loss  was  supplied  by  the  yearly  pen- 
sion of  one  hundred  pounds  from  the  Prince  of  Wales ;  and  his 
friend  Mr.  Lyttelton  afterwards  conferred  on  him  a  lucrative 
situation  under  the  Crown.  He  now  purchased  a  snug  cottage 
near  Richmond,  and  lived  in  modest  luxury  and  literary  ease. 
He  was  of  an  extremely  kind  and  generous  disposition,  and  his 
devotion  to  his  relations  is  an  amiable  trait  in  his  character. 
His  death  was  premature;  for,  catching  cold  in  a  boating-party 
on  the  Thames,  he  died  of  a  fever  in  the  forty-eighth  year  of  his 
age.  During  the  years  of  his  happy  retirement,  he  had  time  to 
compose  his  delightful  half-serious,  half-playful  poem  of  the 
Castle  of  Indolence,  (229)  the  most  enchanting  of  the  many 
imitations  of  the  style  and  manner  of  Spenser,  and  a  work 
which  at  the  same  time  possesses  the  finest  qualities  of  Thom- 
son's own  natural  genius.  He  was  also  the  author  of  a  some- 
what declamatory  and  ambitious  poem  on  the  subject  of  Liberty, 
and  of  a  few  tragedies,  some  of  which,  as  Sophonisba,  were 
acted  with  temporary  success.  The  Seasons,  consisting  of  the 
four  detached  poems  Spring,  Summer,  Autumn,  and  Winter, 
must  be  considered  as  the  corner-stone  of  Thomson's  literary 
fame.  It  is  a  work,  in  plan  and  treatment,  entirely  original, 
and  gives  a  general,  and  at  the  same  time  a  minute  description 
of  all  the  phenomena  of  Nature  during  an  English  year.  The 
metre  is  blank-verse,  which,  though  seldom  showing  anything 
of  the  Miltonic  swell  or  tenderness,  is  rich  and  harmonious. 
Thomson's  chief  defect  is  a  kind  of  pompous  struggle  after  fine 
language,  which  sometimes  degenerates  into  ludicrous  vulgarity. 
Jn  order  to  relieve  the  monotony  of  a  poem  entirely  devoted  to 
description,  he  has  occasionally  introduced  episodes  or  inci- 
dental pictures  more  or  less  naturally  suggested  by  the  subject ; 
though  in  such  of  these  as  involve  the  passion  of  love,  it  must 
be  confessed  that  his  mode  of  delineating  that  feeling  is  far  more 
ardent  than  ideal.  In  point  of  literary  finish  the  Castle  of  In- 
dolence, is  superior  to  the  Seasons.  The  allegory  of  the  en- 
chanted "Land  of  Drowsihead,"  in  which  the  unhappy  victims 
of  Indolence  find  themselves  hopeless  captives,  and  their  deliv- 
ery from  durance  by  the  Knight  Industry,  are  relieved  with 
occasional  touches  of  a  sly  and  pleasant  humor,  as  in  those 
passages  where  Thomson  has  drawn  portraits  of  himself  and 
of  his  friends. 

401.   The  popularity  of   WILLIAM   SHENSTONE    (1714-1763), 


236  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.        CHAP.  XXII. 

once  considerable,  has  now  given  place  to  oblivion;  (230}  but 
his  pleasing  and  original  poem  the  Schoolmistress  will  deserve 
to  retain  a  place  in  every  collection  of  English  verse.  This  is  a 
poem  in  the  Spenserian  stanza  and  antique  diction,  which,  with 
a  delightful  mixture  of  quaint  playfulness  and  tender  descrip- 
tion, paints  the  dwelling,  the  character,  and  the  pursuits  of  an 
old  village  dame  who  keeps  a  rustic  day  school. 

402.  The  career  of  WILLIAM  COLLINS  (1721-1759)  was  brief 
and  unhappy.  He  exhibited  from  very  early  years  the  strong 
poetical  powers  of  a  genius  which,  ripened  by  practice  and  ex- 
perience, would  have  made  him  the  first  lyrical  writer  of  his  age ; 
but  his  ambition  was  rather  feverish  than  sustained ;  he  led  a 
life  of  projects  and  dissipation ;  and  the  first  shock  of  literary 
disappointment  drove  him  to  despondency,  despondency  to  in- 
dulgence, and  indulgence  to  insanity.  His  first  publication  was 
a  series  of  Eclogues,  transferring  the  usual  sentiments  of  pas- 
toral verse  to  the  scenery  and  manners  of  the  East.  Thus  a 
camel-driver  bewailing  the  dangers  and  solitude  of  his  desert 
journey  takes  the  place  of  the  lamentation  of  the  shepherd  ex- 
pelled from  his  native  fields;,  and  the  dialogues  so  frequent  in 
the  bucolics  of  Virgil  or  Theocritus  are  transformed  into  the 
amcebscan  complaints  of  two  Circassian  exiles.  But  though 
these  eclogues  exhibit  traces  of  vivid  imagery  and  melodious 
verse,  the  real  genius  of  Collins  must  be  looked  for  in  his  Odes. 
Judged  by  these  latter,  he  will  be  found  entitled  to  a  very  high 
.place  :  for  true  warmth  of  coloring,  power  of  personification,  and 
dreamy  sweetness  of  harmony,  no  English  poet  had  till  then 
appeared  that  could  be  compared  to  Collins.  Of  these,  that 
entitled  The  Passions  is  the  most  frequently  quoted ;  neverthe- 
less, many  of  the  less  popular  ones,  as  that  addressed  to  Fear, 
(231)  to  Pity,  to  Simplicity,  and  that  On  the  Poetical  Charac- 
ter, contain  happy  strokes,  sometimes  expressed  in  wonderfully 
laconic  language,  and  singularly  vivid  portraiture.  Some  of 
the  smaller  and  less  ambitious  lyrics,  as  the  Verses  to  the  Mem- 
ory of  Thomson,  the  Dirge  in  Cymbcline,  and  the  exquisite  verses 
Hoiv  sleep  the  brave,  are  perhaps  destined  to  a  more  certain  im- 
mortality; but  all  the  qualities  of  Collins's  finest  thought  and 
expression  will  be  found  united  in  the  lovely  little  Ode  to  Even- 
ing, consisting  merely  of  a  few  stanzas  in  blank  verse,  but  so 
subtly  harmonized  that  we  may  read  them  a  thousand  times 
without  observing  the  absence  of  rhyme. 


A.  D.  1721-1771.       AKENSIDE.     GRAY.  237 

403.  MARK  AKEXSIDE  (1721-1770),   like  Arbuthnot,    Garth, 
Smollett,  and  Blackmore,  was  a  physician  as  well  as  a  writer, 
and  a  man  of  considerable  learning,  as  well  as  of  a  pure,  lofty, 
and  classical  turn  of  genius.     His  chief  work  is  the  philosophi- 
cal poem  entitled   The  Pleasures  of  the  Imagination,  (232)  in 
which  he  seeks  at  once  to  investigate  and  illustrate  the  emotions 
excited  by  beautiful  objects  in  art  and  nature  upon  the  human 
mind.     The  philosophical  merit  of  his  theories,  indeed,  is  very 
often  but  small ;  but  the  beauty  of  the  imagery  and  the  language 
will  ever  secure  for  this  lofty,  thoughtful  and  noble  work,  the 
admiration  of  those  readers  who  can  content  themselves"  with 
elevated  thoughts,  without  looking  for  passages  of  strong  human 
interest,  in  which  Akenside  is  deficient.    Few  English  poets  since 
Milton  have  been  more  deeply  saturated  with  the  spirit  of  classi- 
cal antiquity  than  Akenside. 

404.  The  greatest  of  the  exclusively  lyrical  poets  that  England 
had  hitherto  produced  was  THOMAS  GRAY  (1716-1771),  a  man  of 
vast  and  varied  acquirements,  whose  life  was  devoted  to  the  cul- 
tivation of  letters.     He  received  his  education  at  Eton,  and  after- 
wards settled  in  learned  retirement  at  Cambridge,  where  he  be- 
came Professor  of  History  in  1768.     He  acquired  a  high  poetical 
reputation  by  his  beautiful  Ode  on  a  Distant  Prospect  of  Eton 
College,  (234)  published  in  1747;  which  was  followed,  at  pretty 
frequent  intervals,  by  his  other  imposing  and   highly-finished 
works,  the  Elegy  -written  in  a  Country  Chtirchyard,  (233)  the 
Pindaric  Odes,  and  the  far  from  numerous  but  splendid  produc- 
tions which  make  up  his  works.     His  industry  was  untiring,  and 
his  acquirements  undoubtedly  immense;  for  he  had  pushed  his 
researches  far  beyond  the  usual  limits  of  ancient  classical  phi- 
lology, and  was  not  only  deeply  versed  in  the  romance  litera- 
ture of  the  Middle  Ages,  in  modern  French  and  Italian,  but  had 
studied  the  then  almost  unknown  departments  of  Scandinavian 
and  Celtic  poetry.     Many  passages  of  his  wo*ks  are  a  kind  of 
mosaic  of  thought  and  imagery  borrowed  from   Pindar,   from 
the  choral  portions  of  the  Attic  tragedy,  and  from  the  majestic 
lyrics  of  the  Italian  poets  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  cen- 
turies :  but  the  fragments  are,  so  to  say,  fused  into  one  solid 
body  by  the  intense  flame  of  a  powerful  and  fervent  imagination. 
His  finest  lyric  compositions  are  the  Odes  entitled  The  Bard, 
that  on  the  Progress  of  Poesy,  (235)  the  Installation  Ode  on 
the  Duke  of  Grafton's  election  to  the  Chancellorship  of  the  Uni- 


238  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.       CHAP.  XXII. 

versity,  and  the  short  but  truly  noble  Ode  to  Adversity.  The 
Elegy  'written  in  a  Country  Churchyard  is  a  masterpiece  from 
beginning  to  end.  The  thoughts  indeed  are  obvious  enough, 
but  the  dignity  with  which  they  are  expressed,  the  immense 
range  of  allusion  and  description  with  which  they  are  illustrated, 
and  the  finished  grace  of  the  language  and  versification  in  which 
they  are  embodied,  give  to  this  work  something  of  that  inimita- 
ble perfection  of  design  and  execution  which  we  see  in  an  an- 
tique statue  or  a  sculptured  gem.  In  the  Bard,  starting  from  the 
picturesque  idea  of  a  Welsh  poet  and  patriot  contemplating  the 
victorious  invasion  of  his  country  by  Edward  I.,  he  passes  in 
prophetic  review  the  whole  panorama  of /English  History,  from 
the  thirteenth  to  the  sixteenth  century.  In  the  odes  entitled 
The  Fatal  Sisters  and  The  Descent  of  Odin.  Gray  borrowed  his 
materials  from  the  Scandinavian  legends.  The  tone  of  the  Norse 
poetry  is  not  perhaps  very  faithfully  reproduced:  but  these  at- 
tempts to  revive  the  rude  and  archaic  grandeur  of  the  Eddas 
deserve  no  small  approbation. 

405.  The  two  brothers  JOSEPH  WARTON  (1722-1800),  and 
THOMAS  WARTON  (1728-1790)  were  the  sons  of  a  Professor  of 
Poetry  at  Oxford,  and  both  brothers,  especially  the  younger,  de- 
serve a  place  in  the  annajs  of  our  literature.  Thomas,  who  was 
poet-laureate  from  1785  until  his  death,  rendered  great  service 
to  literature  by  his  agreeable  but  unfinished  History  of  English 
Poetry,  which  unfortunately  comes  to  an  abrupt  termination  just 
as  the  author  is  about  to  enter  upon  the  glorious  period  of  the 
Elizabethan  era :  but  the  work  is  valuable  for  research  and  a 
warm  tone  of  appreciative  criticism.  The  best  of  his  own  origi- 
nal verses  are  sonnets,  breathing  a  peculiar  tender  softness  of 
feeling,  and  showing  much  picturesque  fancy. 

400.  WILLIAM  COWPER  (i73i-iSoo);  is  eminently  the  poet  of 
the  domestic  affections,  and  the  exponent  of  that  strong  religious 
feeling,  which  towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  began 
to  penetrate  and  modify  all  the  relations  of  social  life.  (236~ 
24O)  His  story  is  singularly  sad.  He  was  of  ancient  and  even 
illustrious  race,  the  grand-nephew  of  Lord  Chancellor  Cowper, 
and  was  born  with  an  extremely  tender  and  impressionable 
character.  After  being  cowed  by  bullying  at  a  private  school 
he  was  sent  to  Westminster;  whence  he  passed  for  some  years 
into  an  attorney's  office;  but  ultimately  obtained  the  post  of 
Clerk  of  the  Journals  to  the  House  of  Lords;  where,  however, 


A.  D.  1731-1800.        WILLIAM  COWPER.  239 

his  sensitive  nature  was  so  terrified  at  the  idea  of  making  a  pub- 
lic appearance,  that  he  fell  into  a  gloomy  despondency,  and  at- 
tempted to  put  an  end  to  his  existence.  Madness  followed  ;  and 
although  a  short  confinement  in  an  asylum  restored  his  intellect, 
he  was  so  shaken  by  the  attack  as  to  be  entirely  unfitted  for  any 
active  career.  He  now  retired  into  the  country,  and  passed  the 
remainder  of  his  life  in  privacy,  being  first  placed  under  the 
care  of  the  family  of  Mr.  Unwin,  a  clergyman  in  Huntingdon. 
This  was  the  beginning  of  that  remarkable  friendship  with  Mrs. 
Unwin  which  entered  so  largely  into  his  whole  subsequent  life. 
Cowper  s  mind,  always  impressionable,  became  morbidly  suscep- 
tible of  enthusiastic  religious  feeling;  and  his  occasional  halluci- 
nations took  that  most  unhappy  form  of  mental  disease,  religious 
despair.  On  the  death  of  Unwin  he  removed,  with  the  widow, 
to  Olney,  where  he  made  the  friendship  of  John  Newton,  an 
evangelical  divine  of  great  eloquence.  He  began  to  cultivate  lit- 
erature at  first  merely  as  a  pastime,  and  as  a  means  of  escaping 
from  himself;  but  the  force,  originality,  and  grace  of  his  genius 
soon  acquired  popularity,  and  he  pursued  as  a  profession  what 
he  had  at  first  taken  up  as  a  diversion.  His  poetical  talent  did 
not  flower  until  late;  in  1781  his  first  poems  were  given  to  the 
world,  whereupon  his  friend  Lady  Austen  playfully  gave  him  the 
Sofa  as  a  subject.  Upon  this  he  composed  his  poem  of  The 
Task,  (238}  which  became  so  popular  that  he  was  encouraged 
to  follow  up  his  success  with  other  works  in  a  similar  style,  the 
Table-Talk,  Tirocinium,  (230)  and  many  others.  His  most  la- 
borious but  least  successful  undertaking  was  the  translation  of 
the  Iliad  into  English  blank  verse.  In  endeavoring  to  give 
force  and  vigor  to  this  version,  he  fell  into  the  opposite  fault 
to  that  of  Pope,  and  made  his  translation  harsh  and  rugged, 
without  approaching  one  whit  nearer  to  the  true  character  of  his 
original.  From  Olney  he  removed  to  Weston,  where  Mrs.  Unwin 
died,  and  the  pain  of  this  loss  clouded  the  remaining  days  of  the 
unhappy  poet  with  redoubled  gloom  and  despondency. 

407.  The  pictures  of  life  and  nature  drawn  by  Cowper,  whether 
of  rural  scenery  or  of  indoor  life,  have  seldom  been  surpassed 
for  truth  and  picturesqueness ;  and  his  satirical  sketches  of  the 
follies  and  absurdities  of  manners,  and  his  indignant  denuncia- 
tions of  national  offences  against  piety  and  morality,  are  equally 
remarkable,  in  the  one  case,  for  sharpness  and  humor,  and  in 
the  other  for  a  lofty  grandeur  of  sentiment.  From  him  the  level 


240  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.        CHAP.  XXIL 

banks  of  the  Ouse,  the  most  unromantic  of  English  rivers,  have 
caught  a  magic  that  will  never  pass  away;  the  quiet  home  circle 
of  middle  English  life,  the  tea-table,  the  newspaper,  and  the 
hearth,  have  derived  from  him  a  beauty  and  a  dignity  which 
other  men  have  failed  to  communicate  to  the  proudest  scenes  of 
camps  and  courts.  In  spite  of  the  morbid  religious  system  of 
Cowper,  many  of  his  comic  and  humorous  delineations  exhibit 
the  full  effulgence  of  a  playful  gayety  which  no  cloud  can  dim. 
Of  all  our  poets  Cowper  is  essentially  the  painter  of  domestic 
life ;  the  mixture  of  worldly  observation,  delicate  painting  of  na- 
ture, and  intense  religious  feeling,  that  is  found  in  his  poems, 
peculiarly  endears  them  to  the  great  middle  class  in  England. 
Many  of  Cowper's  songs  and  shorter  lyrics  are  elegant  and  spor- 
tive ;  and  his  beautiful  lines  On  Receiving-  my  Mother's  Picture 
(236}  will  ever  be  read  with  delight.  His  comic  ballad  John 
Gilpin  is  a  pleasant  drollery.  (24:0)  His  letters  are  perhaps  the 
most  charming  in  the  language;  they  ghow  the  poet  in  his  most 
amiable  light,  and  invest  every  trifle  which  surrounds  him  with 
a  sort  of  halo  of  purity  and  goodness. 

408.  Several  poems  have  appeared  in  England  possessing 
what  may  be  called  a  technical  character,  being  either  devoted 
to  the  teaching  of  some  art,  or  describing  some  special  sport  or 
amusement,  such  as  ARMSTRONG'S  Act  of  Preserving  Health, 
GRAINGER'S  Sugar-Cane,  PHILIPS'S  Cyder,  and  SOMERVILLE'S 
Chase.  The  most  successful  work,  however,  of  this  kind,  is  the 
Shipwreck  (241}  of  WILLIAM  FALCONER  (1730-1769),  a  narra- 
tive poem  in  three  cantos,  detailing  the  danger  and  ultimate  loss 
of  a  merchant-ship  on  a  voyage  to  Venice,  which  is  cast  away, 
after  experiencing  a  violent  gale  in  the  Greek  archipelago,  on 
the  dangerous  rocks  of  Cape  Colonna,  the  ancient  Sunium.  To 
the  same  department  of  poetry  belongs  also  ERASMUS  DARWIN 
(1731-1802),  who  endeavored  to  clothe  in  dazzling  and  somewhat 
tinsel  splendor  the  principles  of  the  Linnsean  sexual  system  of 
vegetable  physiology.  His  principal  work  is  the  .Botanic  Garden 
(242)  the  first  part  of  which  was  entitled  the  Economy  of  Vegeta- 
tion, and  the  second  the  Loves  of  the  Plants,  which  latter  Can- 
ning humorously  parodied  in  the  Loves  of  the  Triangles.  He 
wrote  another  poem,  entitled  The  Temple  of  Nature  ;  or,  the  Ori- 
gin of  Society.  In  these  compositions  the  elaborate  and  ambi- 
tious melody  of  his  versification  has  not  sufficed  to  compensate 
•for  the  over-wrought  and  fatiguing  monotony  of  his  imagery  ; 


A.  D.  1738-1796.    JAMES   MACPHEESON.  241 

though  many  of  his  episodes  and  subordinate  descriptions  ex- 
hibit a  great  force  of  language,  and  a  powerful  faculty  of  the 
picturesque. 

409.  The  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  remarkable  for 
several  nearly  contemporaneous  attempts  at  literary  imposture  — 
the  poetical  forgeries  of  Macpherson,  Chatterton,  and  Ireland. 
The  first  of  these  three  has  alone  survived,  in  some  part,  the 
ordeal  of  strict  critical  examination ;  and  that  because,  though 
the  totality  of  the  works  palmed  upon  the  public  as  Ossian's 
have  no  claim  whatever  to  the  character  arrogated  for  them  bv 
their  pretended  translator,  they  are  nevertheless  filled  with 
names,  incidents,  and  allusions  really  traceable  to  Celtic  an- 
tiquity. JAMES  MACPHERSON  (1738-1796),  originally  a  country 
schoolmaster,  and  afterwards  a  tutor,  pretended  to  have  accu- 
mulated, in  his  travels  through  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  an 
immense  mass  of  fragments  of  ancient  poetry  composed  in  the 
Gaelic  or  Erse  dialect  common  to  that  country  and  Ireland.  The 
translations,  which  Macpherson  professed  to  have  made  from 
the  originals,  were  composed  in  a  pompous  and  declamatory  sort 
of  prose ;  and  immediately  on  their  publication  a  furious  war 
ensued  on  the  question  of  their  authenticity.  (24:3}  The  High- 
landers, eager  for  the  honor  of  their  country,  maintained  the 
affirmative;  while  the  Southern  critics,  among  whom  Johnson 
occupied  a  foremost  place,  expressed  the  strongest  disbelief. 
Macpherson  might  at  once  have  settled  the  question  by  pro- 
ducing the  supposed  originals ;  but  this  he  refused  to  do,  under 
the  pretext  that  his  honor  had  been  impeached.  He  afterwards 
published  two  long  poems  in  the  same  style,  Fingal  in  six,  and 
Temora  in  eight  books,  which  he  attributed,  like  the  preceding 
fragments,  to  the  genius  of  the  Celtic  Homer.  The  regularity 
of  construction  in  these  works,  the  numerous  passages  in  them 
as  well  as  in  their  predecessors  evidently  plagiarized  from  the 
whole  range  of  literature,  from  the  Bible  and  Homer  down  to 
Shakspeare,  Milton,  and  even  Thomson,  the  artificial  and  monot- 
onous though  strained  and  highly-wrought  diction,  and,  above 
all,  the  sentiments  in  constant  discordance  with  the  real  man- 
ners of  the  ancient  Highlanders,  would  have  sufficed,  even  in 
the  general  ignorance  of  the  Gaelic  language,  to  undeceive  all 
except  those  who  were  ignorantly  carried  away  by  the  imposing 
but  hollow  magnificence  of  the  style.  Yet  in  Germany  the  ad- 
miration for  these  productions  has  not  even  now  altogether 
16 


242  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.        CHAP.  XXII. 

subsided ;  and  perhaps  the  only  poetry,  which  attracted  the 
imagination  of  Napoleon,  was  this  wild  declamatory  rhapsody 
which  left  no  faint  traces  upon  his  bulletins. 

410.  The  annals  of  literature  hardly  present  a  more  extraordi- 
nary example  of  precocious  genius  than  that  of  THOMAS  CHAT- 
TERTON  (1752-1770),  nor  an  instance  of  a  career  more  brief  and 
melancholy.  {24=4}  He  was  born  in  I752r  the  son  of  a  poor 
sexton  and  parish  schoolmaster  at  Bristol;  and  he  died,  by  sui- 
cide, before  he  had  completed  his  eighteenth  year.  He  produced 
at  eleven  years  of  age  verses  which  will  more  than  bear  a  com- 
parison with  the  early  poems  of  any  author;  and  though  he  had 
received  little  education  beyond  that  of  a  parish  school,  he  con- 
ceived the  project  of  deceiving  all  the  learned  of  his  age,  and 
creating,  it  may  almost  be  said,  a  whole  literature  of  the  past. 
In  the  muniment  room  of  St.  Mary  Redcliffe's,  Bristol,  of  which 
church  his  father  was  sexton,  there  was  a  chest  called  Canynge's 
coffer  (Canynge  was  a  rich  citizen,  who  lived  in  Edward  IV. 's 
reign),  in  which:  had  been  preserved  charters  and  other  docu- 
ments connected  with  Canynge's  benefactions  to  the  church. 
The  young  poet,  familiarized  with  the  sight  of  these  antiquated 
writings,  conceived  the  idea  of  forging  a  whole  series  of  docu- 
ments, which  he  pretended  either  to  have  found  in  Canynge's 
coffer,  or  to  have  transcribed  from  originals  in  that  mysterious 
receptacle.  After  successfully  producing  these  on  several  occa- 
sions, as  local  events  appeared  appropriately  to  suggest  them, 
he  went  so  far  as  to  furnish  Horace  Walpole,  then  engaged  on 
his  Anecdotes  of  British  Painters,  with  a  long  list  of  mediaeval 
artists  who  had  flourished  in  Bristol.  All  these  documents  he 
fathered  upon  a  priest,  Thomas  Rowley,  whom  he  represents  to 
have  been  employed  by  the  munificent  Canynge  as  a  sort  of 
agent  for  collecting  works  of  art.  The  poems  are  of  immense 
variety  and  unquestionable  merit;  and  though  modern  criticism 
will  instantly  detect  in  them,  as  did  Gray  and  Mason  when  Wal- 
pole submitted  some  of  them  to  their  opinion,  the  most  glaring 
marks  of  forgery,  yet  their  brilliancy  and  their  number  were 
enough  to  deceive  many  learned  scholars  in  an  age  when  minute 
antiquarian  knowledge  of  the  Middle  Ages  was  much  rarer  than 
at  present.  Yet  no  task  is  so  difficult  as  that  of  successfully 
imitating  ancient  compositions,  and  Chatterton  fell  into  errors 
which  detect  him  at  once.  Thus  in  his  eagerness  to  incrust  his 
diction  with  the  rust  of  antiquity,  he  overlays  his  words  with 


A.  D.  1754-1835.    IRELAND.     CEABBE.  243 

I 

such  an  accumulation  of  consonants  as  belong  to  ho  orthography 
of  any  age  of  our  language.  He  has  also,  as  was  inevitable, 
sometimes  made  a  slip  in  the  use  of  an  old  "word,  as  when  he 
borrowed  the  expression  mortmal  which  he  found  in  Chaucer's 
description  of  the  Cook,  he  employed  it  to  signify,  not  a  disease, 
the  gangrene,  but  a  dish.  Of  the  same  kind  are  his  innumera- 
ble examples  of  impossible  architecture  and  heraldry  at  variance 
with  every  principle  of  the  art.  Burning  with  pride,  hope,  and 
literary  ambition,  the  unhappy  lad  betook  himself  to  London, 
where  after  struggling  a  short  time  with  distress,  and  almost 
with  starvation,  he  poisoned  himself  with  a  dose  of  arsenic  on 
the  25th  of  August,  1770.  Singularly  enough  his  acknowledged 
poems,  though  indicating  very  great  powers,  are  manifestly 
inferior  to  those  he  wrote  in  the  assumed  character  of  Thomas 
Rowley. 

411.  WILLIAM  HENRY  IRELAND  (1777-1835)  deserves  mention 
only  on  account  of  his  Shakspearian  forgeries,  among  which  was 
a  play  entitled  Vortigern,  in  which  John  Kemble  acted  in  1795. 
Ireland  soon  afterwards  acknowledged  his  guilt. 

412.  If  Cowper-be  rightly  denominated  the  poet  of  the.  domes- 
tic hearth,  GEORGE  CRABDE  (1754-1832)  is  eminently  the  poet 
of  the  passions  in  humble  life.     He  was  born  at  the  little  sea- 
port town  of  Aldborough  in   Suffolk,  where  his  father  was  a 
humble  fisherman ;  and  after  a  dreamy  and  studious  childhood, 
he  was  apprenticed  to  a  surgeon  and  apothecary.     Passionately 
fond  of  literature  and  botany,  he  determined  to  seek  his  fortune 
in  London,  carrying  with  him  several  unfinished  poems,  which 
he  published,  but  which  were  coldly  received.     After  some  stay 
in  London  he  found  himself  reduced  to  despair;  when  he  ad- 
dressed a  manly  and  affecting  letter  to  Edmund  Burke,  who  im- 
mediately admitted  him  to  his  house  and  friendship.    From  this 
moment  his  fortune  changed ;  he  was  assisted,  both  with  money 
and  advice,  in  bringing  out  his  poem  of  The  Library,  was  in- 
duced to  enter  the  Church,  and  was  promised  the  powerful  influ- 
ence of  Lord  Chancellor  Thurlow.    He  became  domestic  chaplain 
to  the  Duke  of  Rutland ;  but  after  marriage  with  a  young  lady 
to  whom  he  had  been  long  attached,  he  changed  the  splendid 
restraint  of  Beauvoir  for  the  humbler  but  more  independent  ex- 
istence of  a  parish  priest,  and  in  this  occupation  he  continued 
until  his  death. 

413.  It  was  not  till  the  appearance  of  The  Village,  in  1783, 


244  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.       CHAP.  XXII. 

• 

that  Crabbe  struck  out  that  path  in  which  he  had  neither  prede- 
cessor nor  rival.  The  success  of  this  poem  was  very  great,  for 
it  was  the  first  attempt  to  paint  the  manners  and  existence  of  the 
laboring  class  without  dressing  them  up  in  the  artificial  colors 
of  fiction.  His  next  work  was  The  Parish  Register,  (246)  in 
which  the  public  saw  the  gradual  ripening  of  his  vigorous  and 
original  genius;  and  this  was  followed,  at  comparatively  short 
intervals,  by  The  Borough,  Tales  in  Verse,  and  Tales  of  the 
Hall.  These,  with  the  striking  but  painful  poems,  written  in  a 
different  measure,  entitled  Sir  Eustace  Grey  and  The  Hall  of 
Justice,  make  up  Crabbe's  large  and  valuable  contribution  to  the 
poetical  literature  of  his  country.  Almost  all  these  works  are 
constructed  upon  a  peculiar  and  generally  similar  plan.  Crabbe 
starts  with  some  description,  as  of  the  Village,  the  Parish 
Church,  the  Borough,  from  which  he  naturally  proceeds  to  de- 
duce a  series  of  separate  episodes,  usually  of  middle  and  humble 
life,  appropriate  to  the  leading  idea.  Thus  in  the  Parish  Regis- 
ter we  have  some  of  the  most  remarkable  births,  marriages,  and 
deaths  that  are  supposed  to  take  place  in  a  year  amid  a  rural 
population ;  in  the  Borough  {245}  the  lives  and  adventures  of 
the  most  prominent  characters  that  figure  on  the  narrow  stage 
of  a  small  provincial  town.  With  the  exception  of  Sir  Eustace 
Grey  and  the  Hall  of  Justice,  which  are  written  in  a  peculiar 
rhymed  short-lined  stanza,  Crabbe's  poems  are  in  the  classical 
ten-syllabled  heroic  verse,  and  the  contrast  is  strange  between 
the  neat  Pope-like  regularity  of  the  metre,  and  the  deep  passion^ 
the  intense  reality,  and  the  quaint  humor  of  the  scenes  which  he 
displays.  No  poet  has  more  subtly  traced  the  motives  which 
regulate  human  conduct;  and  his  descriptions  of  nature  are 
marked  by  the  same  unequalled  power  of  rendering  interesting, 
by  the  sheer  force  of  truth  and  exactness,  the  most  unattractive 
features  to  the  external  world.  The  village-tyrant,  the  poacher, 
the  smuggler,  the  miserly  old  maid,  the  pauper,  and  the  crim- 
inal, are  drawn  with  the  same  gloomy  but  vivid  force  as  that 
with  which  Crabbe  paints  the  squalid  streets  of  the  fishing-town, 
or  the  fen,  the  quay,  and  the  heath. 

414.  The  greatest  poet,  beyond  all  comparison,  that  Scotland 
has  produced  is  ROBERT  BURNS  (1759-1796).  (247-251)  He 
was  born  at  the  hamlet  of  Alloway  in  Ayrshire,  and  was  the  son 
of  a  peasant  farmer  of  the  humblest  class.  Popular  education 
was  at  that  period  very  generally  diffused  in  Scotland ;  and  ac- 


A.  D.  1759-1796.         EGBERT  BURNS.  245 

cordinglj  he  acquired  a  good  general  acquaintance  with  the  great 
masterpieces  of  English  literature,  and  was  able  to  use  with  per- 
fect facility  the  style  and  diction  of  the  great  classical  authors 
of  South  Britain.  From  a  very  early  age  he  began  to  express 
in  verse  the  impressions  made  upon  his  fancy  by  the  beautiful 
and  pastoral  nature  which  surrounded  him,  and  the  outpourings 
of  his  own  feelings  and  heart.  In  early  life  Burns  labored  like 
a  peasant  upon  his  father's  farm,  and  afterwards  endeavored,  but 
without«success,  to  conduct  a  farm  with  his  brothers.  On  the 
failure  of  these  speculations,  he  resolved  to  emigrate  to  the  West 
Indies ;  and  in  order  to  raise  funds  for  the  voyage,  he  was  in- 
duced to  publish  a  collection  of  his  poems,  which  had  long  en- 
joyed a  great  local  popularity.  They  were  at  once  received  by 
the  highly  cultivated  society  of  Edinburgh  with  a  tempest  of 
enthusiasm  that  instantly  made  the  "  Ayrshire  ploughman  "  the 
idol  of  the  fashionable  and  literary  world.  Intoxicated  by  suc- 
cess, he  abandoned  his  design ;  and  after  again  falling  into  em- 
barrassments, rendered  more  inextricable  by  his  irregularities, 
he  obtained  a  humble  appointment  in  the  Excise  service,  the 
duties  of  which  were  unfortunately  of  a  nature  to  still  further 
foster  habits  of  intemperance  that  had  been  continually  growing 
upon  him.  His  strong  constitution  was  undermined  by  excess 
and  excitement  of  all  kinds,  and  the  poet  died  of  fever  at  Dum- 
fries, in  extreme  poverty,  in  the  thirty-seventh  year  of  his  age. 

415.  In  Burns  the  highest  poetical  qualities  were  united  to  a 
degree  which  is  rarely  met  with, — tenderness  the  most  exqui- 
site, humor  the  broadest  and  the  most  refined,  the  most  delicate, 
and  yet  powerful  perception  of  natural  beauty,  the  highest  finish  , 
and  the  easiest  negligence  of  style.  His  writings  are  chiefly 
lyric,  consisting  of  songs  of  inimitable  beauty,  but  he  has  also 
produced  works  either  of  a  narrative  or  satirical  character,  in 
some  of  which,  too,  the  lyric  element  is  combined  with  the  de- 
scriptive. The  longest  and  most  remarkable  of  his  poems  is 
Tarn  d1  Shantcr,  a  tale  of  popular  witch-superstition,  in  which 
the  most  brilliant  descriptive  power  is  united  to  a  pathos  the 
most  touching,  a  fancy  the  most  wild,  and  a  humor  the  quaintest, 
slyest,  and  most  joyous.  Another  inimitable  poem,  half-narra- 
tive, but  set  thick  with  glorious  songs,  is  the  Jolly  Beggars  : 
careless  vagabond  jollity,  roaring  mirth  and  gypsy  merriment, 
have  never  been  so  expressed.  In  his  Address  to  the  De'il, 
Death  and  Dr.  Hornbook.  The  Two.  Dogs,  and  the  dialogue 


246  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.        CHAP.  XXII. 

between  the  Old  and  New  Bridges  of  Ayr,  Burns  combines 
humorous  and  picturesque  description  with  reflections  and 
thoughtful  moralizing  upon  life  and  society.  The  Dialogue  be- 
tween the  Tiva  Dogs  is  an  elaborate  comparison  between  the 
relative  degree  of  virtue  and  happiness  granted  to  the  rich  and 
the  poor.  His  description  of  the  joys  and  consolations  of  the 
poor  man's  lot  is  perhaps  even  more  beautiful  in  this  poem  than 
in  the  more  generally  popular  Cotter's  Saturday  Night,  (251') 
written  in  stanzas,  and  in  a  language  less  provincial  ihan  the 
former,  a  circumstance  which  has  rendered  the  poem  better 
known  to  the  general  public.  In  the  poem  descriptive  of  rustic 
fortune-telling  on  Hallo-ween,  in  the  Vision  of  Liberty,  where 
Burns  gives  such  a  sublime  picture  of  his  own  early  aspirations, 
in  the  unequalled  sorrow  that  breathes  through  the  Lament  for 
Glencairn,  in  Scotch  Drink,  the  Haggis,  the  epistles  to  Captain 
Grose  and  Matthe^v  Henderson,  in  the  exquisite  description  of 
the  death  of  the  old  ewe  Mailie,  and  the  poet's  address  to  his  old 
mare,  we  find  the  same  prevailing  mixture  of  pathos  and  humor, 
that  truest  pathos  which  finds  its  materials  in  the  common  every- 
day objects  of  life,  and  that  truest  humor  which  is  allied  to  the 
deepest  feeling.  The  famous  lines  On  Turning  up  a  Mouse's 
Nest  with  the  Plough,  and  on  destroying  in  the  same  way  a 
Mountain  Daisy,  will  ever  remain  among  the  chief  gems  of  ten- 
derness and  beauty. 

416.  Those  of  Burns's  Songs  that  are  written  in  pure  English 
have  often  an  artificial  and  somewhat  pretentious  air,  which 
places  them  below  the  Doric  of  the  Lowland  Muse.  Intensity  of 
feeling,  condensed  force  and  picturesqueness  of  expression,  and 
admirable  melody  of  flow,  aie  the  qualities  which  distinguish 
them.  In  the  song  Ae  fond  Kiss  and  then  tve  Part  is  concen 
trated  the  whole  essence  of  a  thousand  love-poems  :  the  heroic, 
outbreak  of  patriotism  in  Scots  tv/ia  hae  tvi'  Wallace  bled  (%4-ty) 
is  a  lyric  of  true  Tyrta?an  force  :  and  in  those  of  a  calmer  and 
more  lamenting  character,  as  Te  Banks  and  Braes,  there  is  the 
finest  union  of  personal  sentiment  with  the  most  complete  as- 
similation of  the  poet's  mind  to  the  loveliness  of  external  nature. 
The  only  defects  with  which  this  great  poet  can  be  reproached 
are  an  occasional  coarseness  of  satire,  as  exemplified  in  the  per- 
sorihlities  of  Holy  Fair,  a  tone  of  defiant  and  needless  opposition 
of  one  class  against  another,  and  now  and  then  a  vulgar  and 
misplaced  ornament  which  contrasts  tawdrily  with  the  sweet 
simplicity  of  the  general  style. 


A.  D.  1731-1816.     CHURCHILL.     SHERIDAN.  247 

417.  The  poetical  movement  in  the  direction  of  greater  free- 
dom  and   an   expansion   into  a  larger  and  fuller  life,  and   the 
eagerness  to  escape  from  the  paralyzing  influences  of  the  so- 
called  correct  school,  which  characterized  the  latter  half  of  the 
eignteenth  century,  are  no  less  marked  in  the  many  minor  poets 
of-    this    time.      Thus    the    numerous    satirical    productions   of 
CHARLES  CHURCHILL  (1731-1764)  are  distinguished  by  a  rugged 
massive  force  and  a  rude  strength  which  strikingly  contrast  with 
the  dainty  elegance  and  refined  feebleness  of  the  followers  of 
Pope.     His  Rosciad,  in  which   he  mercilessly  lashed  the  stage 
and  actors  of  the  day,  the  Prophecy  of  Famine,  directed  against 
the  then  highly  obnoxious  Scotch,  the  Cock  Lane  Ghost,  where 
the  great  Doctor  figures  as  "Pomposo,"  are  all  evidences  that 
a  nobler  period  of  literary  development  was  at  hand.     Few  wri- 
ters have  enjoyed  a  greater  immediate  popularity  than  Chur- 
chill; but  notwithstanding  his.  merits,  and  they  are  numerous, 
the  interest  in  his  works  has  almost  entirely  died  out  with  that 
of  the  bitter  political  controversy  to  which  they  mainly  belong. 
The  Grongar  Hill  of  DYER,  and  the  Clifton    Grove  of  KIRKE 
WHITE  are  likely  to  be  remembered  as  long  as  vigor  of  imagi- 
nation and  poetic  sensibility  are  prized  in  England. 

418.  In   tracing  the  progress  of  the  comic  drama  from  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  down  almost  to  the  present 
time,  the  chief  names  to  be  noted  are  those  of  Gar.rick,  Foote, 
Cumberland,   the  two  Colmans,   father  and  son,  of  whom  the 
second  is  by  far  the  more  considerable,  and  lastly  Sheridan,  that 
strange  cometary  genius,  whose  powers  were  so  versatile,  and 
whose  life  was  so  brilliant  and  so  disreputable.     But  with  the 
single  exception  of  the  last,   none  of  these  authors  produced 
anything  of  permanent  value,  though  all  of  them   enjoyed  a 
high  reputation  in   their  day. 

419.  RICHARD  BRINSLEY  SHERIDAN  (1751-1816)   is  certainly 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  figures  in  the  social,  political,  and 
intellectual  life  of  the  period.     Byron  justly  said  that  the  intel- 
lectual reputation   of  Sheridan  was  truly  enviable,  that  he  had 
made  the  best  speech  —  that  on  the  Begums  of  Oude  — written 
the  two  best  comedies,   the   Rivals  and  the  School  for  Scan- 
dal, {253}  the  best  opera,  the  Duenna,  and  the  best  farce,  the 
Critic.     His  whole  life,  both  in   Parliament  and  in   the  would, 
was  a  succession  of  extravagance  and  imprudence;  and  the  in- 
genious shifts  by  which  he  endeavored  to  stave  oft"  his  embar- 


248  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.       CHAP.  XXII. 

rassments,  and  the  jokes  with  which  he  disarmed  even  his 
angriest  creditors,  would  of  themselves  furnish  matters  for  a 
most  amusing  jest-book.  His  two  great  comedies  belong  to  the 
two  distinct  types  of  the  drama ;  the  Rivals  depends  for  its  in- 
terest upon  the  grotesqueness  of  its  characters  and  the  amusing 
unexpectedness  of  its  incidents,  while  the  School  for  Scandal  is 
essentially  a  piece  of  witty  dialogue  or  repartee.  The  language 
of  the  latter  was  polished  by  the  author  with  the  most  anxious 
care,  and  every  passage  sparkles  with  the  cold  and  diamond-like 
splendor  of  Congreve.  In  the  Critic  we  have  a  farce,  based 
upon  the  same  plan  as  the  Rehea-rsal,  which  gives  the  author 
the  opportunity  of  introducing  a  burlesque  or  caricature  of  the 
imaginary  piece,  while  at  the  same  time  he  can  introduce  the 
absurdities  of  the  author  and  the  criticism  of  his  friends.  It  is 
probable  that  not  a  line  of  these  three  pieces  will  ever  cease  to 
be  popular :  whether  acted  or  read,  they  are  equally  delightful. 
A  dramatic  work  which  was  immensely  popular  at  this  time, 
and  which  even  Sir  Walter  Scott  pronounced  a  masterpiece,  is 
the  Douglas  of  JOHN  HOME  (1724-1808).  The  author  was  a 
minister  of  the  Scotch  Kirk,  but  lost  this  position  by  the  success 
of  his  play.  He  was,  however,  pensioned  by  Lord  Bute.  His 
other  works  are  worthless,  and  now  entirely  forgotten.  (358) 


A.  D.  1771-1832.         WALTER  SCOTT.  249 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

WALTER   SCOTT. 

420.  THE  great  revolution  in  taste,  substituting  romantic  for 
classical  sentiment  and  subjects,  which  culminated  in  the  poems 
and  novels  of  Walter  Scott,  is  traceable  to  the  labors  of  BISHOP 
PERCY  (1728-1811).  His  publication  in  1765,  under  the  title  of 
Reliques  of  Ancient  English  Poetry,  of  a  collection  of  old  bal- 
lads, many  of  which  had  been  preserved  only  in  manuscript, 
while  others,  having  originally  been  printed  in  the  rudest  man- 
ner on  flying  sheets  for  circulation  among  the  lower  orders  of 
the  people,  had  owed  their  preservation  only  to  the  care  of 
collectors,  must  be  considered  as  a  critical  epoch  in  the  history 
of  our  literature.  Many  authors  before  him,  as,  for  example, 
Addison  and  Sir  Philip  Sydney,  had  expressed  the  admiration 
which  a  cultivated  taste  must  ever  feel  for  the  rough  but  inimita- 
ble graces  of  our  old  ballad-poets  ;  but  Percy  was  the  first  who 
undertook  an  examination,  at  once  systematic  and  popular,  of 
those  neglected  treasures.  It  is  true  that  he  did  not  always  ad- 
here with  scrupulous  fidelity  to  the  ancient  texts,  and  where  the 
poems  were  in  a  fragmentary  and  imperfect  condition  he  did  not 
hesitate,  any  more  than  Scott  after  him  in  the  Border  Minstrel- 
sy, to  fill  up  the  rents  of  time  with  matter  of  his  own  invention. 
This,  however,  at  a  period  when  his  chief  object  was  to  excite 
among  general  readers  an  interest  in  these  fine  old  monuments 
of  mediae val  genius,  was  no  unpardonable  offence.  Percy 
found,  in  collecting  these  compositions,  that  the  majority  of 
the  oldest  and  most  interesting  were  distinctly  traceable,  both  as 
regards  their  subjects  and  the  dialect  in  which  they  were  writ- 
ten, to  the  North  Countree,  that  is,  to  the  frontier  region  be- 
tween England  and  Scotland  which  had  necessarily  been  the 
scene  of  the  most  frequent  and  striking  incidents  of  predatory 
warfare,  such  as  those  recorded  in  the  noble  ballads  of  Chevy 
Chase  and  the  Battle  of  Ottcrbnrn.  Besides  a  very  large  num- 
ber of  these  purely  heroic  ballads,  Percy  gave  specimens  of  an 


250  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.      CHAP.  XXIII. 

immense  series  of  songs  and  lyrics  extending  down  to  a  com- 
paratively late  period  of  English  history,  even  to  his  own  cen- 
tury; but  the  chief  interest  of  his  collection,  and  the  chief 
service  he  rendered  to  literature  by  his  publication,  is  concen- 
trated on  the  earlier  portion.  It  is  impossible  to  exaggerate  the 
influence  exerted -by  Percy's  Reliques:  this  book  has  been  de- 
voured with  the  most  intense  interest  by  generation  after  gener- 
ation of  English  poets,,  and  has  undoubtedly  contributed  to  give 
the  first  direction  to  the  youthful  genius  of  many  of  our  most 
illustrious  writers.  The  boyish  enthusiasm  of  Walter  Scott  was 
stirred,  "  as  with  the  sound  of  a  trumpet,"  by  the  vivid  recitals 
of  the  old  Border  rhapsodists ;  and  but  for  Percy  it  is  possible 
that  we  should  have  had  neither  the  Lady  of  the  Lake  nor 
Wavcrlc.y.  In  fact,  the  appearance  of  this  work  distinctly  indi- 
cates the  approaching  advent  of  the  great  modern  Romantic 
School  of  writers. 

421.  Literary  history  presents  few  examples  of  a  career  so 
splendid  as  that  of  WALTER  SCOTT  (1771-1832).  (254-263) 
A  genius  at  once  so  vigorous  and  versatile,  a  productiveness  so 
magnificent  and  so  sustained,  will  with  difficulty  be  found, 
though  we  ransack  the  wide  realms  of  ancient  and  modern  let- 
ters. He  was  born  in  1771,  the  son  of  a  respectable  Writer  to 
the  Signet  in  Edinburgh,  and  was  connected,  both  by  the  father's 
and  mother's  side,  with  several  of  those  ancient  historic  Border 
families  whose  warlike  memories  his  genius  was  destined  to 
make  immortal.  In  consequence  of  delicate  health  in  early  life 
he  passed  much  of  his  time  at  the  farm  of  his  grandfather  near 
Kelso,  where  he  was  surrounded  with  legends,  ruins,  and  his- 
toric localities,  of  which  he  was  to  make  in  his  works  so  admi- 
rable a  use.  On  leaving  the  University,  where  he  was  altogether 
undistinguished,  he  was  destined  to  the  ^profession  of  the  bar, 
and  he  practised  during  some  time  as  an  advocate  before  the 
Scottish  tribunals.  On  his  marriage  with  a  young  lady  of 
French  origin,  called  Charpentier,  he  took  up  his  residence  at 
Lasswade,  where  he  made  his  first  essays  in  literature.  The 
direction  of  his  mind  was  towards  the  poetical  and  antiquarian 
curiosities  of  the  Middle  Ages ;  but  just  at  that  time  there  had 
been  awakened  among  the  intellectual  circles  of  Edinburgh  a 
taste  for  German  literature,  then  only  just  beginning  to  become 
known ;  and  Scott  contributed  several  translations,  as  that  of 
Goethe's  Erl-Kiinig,  of  the  Lenore  of  Burger,  and  afterwards 


A.  D.  1771-1832.        WALTER   SCOTT.  251 

the  whole  drama  of  GQtz  of  the  Iron  Hand.  He  next  conceived 
the  plan  of  rescuing  from  oblivion  the  large  stores  of  Border 
ballads  which  were  still  current  among  the  descendants  of  the 
Liddesdale  and  Annandale  mosstroopers,  and  for  that  purpose 
travelled  for  a  time  in  those  picturesque  regions.  The  result  of 
his  researche  she  published  as  Minstrelsy  of  the  Scottish  Border  ; 
and  the  learning  and  taste  of  this  work  gave  Scott  a  high  repu- 
tation, and  in  some  degree  contributed  to  induce  him  to  aban- 
don the  profession  of  the  law  for  that  of  literature.  He  was 
still  further  confirmed  in  his  project  by  receiving  the  appoint- 
ment of  Sheriff  of  Selkirkshire,  the  duties  of  which  left  much 
leisure  at  his  disposal.  He  now  changed  his  residence  to  the 
pretty  villa  of  Ashestiel  on  the  Tweed;  and  in  1805  he  first  burst 
upon  the  world  in  the  quality  of  a  great  original  romantic  poet. 
In  this  year  The  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel  {254:)  was  published, 
which  the  public  received  with  a  rapture  of  enthusiasm.  In  rapid 
succession  followed  Marmion  {256-258},  the  Lady  of  the 
Lake  (£59),  Rokeby,  and  the  Lord  of  the  Isles ;  not  to  enumer- 
ate a  number  of  less  important  and  less  successful  works,  such 
as  the  Vision  of  Don  Roderick,  the  Bridal  of  Tricrmain,  Harold 
the  Dauntless,  and  the  Field  of  Waterloo,  the  first  and  last  of 
which  were  written  with  the  special  purpose  of  celebrating  the 
triumph  over  Napoleon,  and  which,  as  is  generally  the  case 
with  such  productions,  are  unworthy  of  the  author's  genius. 
These  all  appeared  before  1816.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  writh 
Rokeby  the  popularity  of  Scott's  poetry,  though  still  very  great, 
began  perceptibly  to  decline ;  a  fact  which  with  manly  sense  he 
fully  recognized,  and  accordingly  abandoned  poetry  to  launch 
into  a  new  career  —  a  career  in  which  he  could  have  neither 
equal  nor  second. 

422.  In  1814  appeared  Waverley,  the  commencement  of  which 
had  been  sketched  out  and  thrown  aside  nine  years  before ;  and 
with  Waverley  began  that  inimitable  series  of  romances  which 
he  poured  forth  with  a  splendor  and  facility  surpassing  even  that 
of  the  poems.  During  the  seventeen  years  intervening  between 
1814  and  1831  were  written  the  entire  series  of  Waverley  Novels, 
produced  with  such  inconceivable  rapidity,  that  on  an  average 
about  two  of  such  works  appeared  in  one  j-ear.  Our  wonder  at 
such  fertility  is  still  further  augmented,  wrhen  we  learn  that  dur- 
ing this  period  Scott  succeeded  in  writing,  independently  of  the 
above  fictions,  a  considerable  number  of  works  in  the  depart- 


252  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.      CHAP.  XXIII. 

ments  of  history,  criticism,  and  biography.  The  Life  of  Napo- 
leon, the  Tales  of  a  Grandfather,  the  amusing  Letters  on 
Demonology  and  Witchcraft,  and  extensive  editions,  with  Lives, 
of  Dryden  and  Swift,  all  belong  to  this  period.  Spurred  on  by 
the  desire  of  founding  a  territorial  family,  Scott  went  on 
purchasing  land,  planting  and  improving,  and  transforming  the 
modest  cottage  of  Abbotsford  on  his  beloved  Tweed  into  a 
"  romance  in  stone  and  lime,"  a  baronial  residence  crowded  with 
the  rarest  objects  of  mediaeval  antiquity.  The  very  large  outlay 
necessitated  by  this  mode  of  life  he  supplied  partly  by  his  inex- 
haustible pen,  and  partly  by  engaging  secretly  in  large  com- 
mercial speculations  with  the  printing  and  publishing  firm  of 
the  Ballantynes,  his  intimate  friends  and  schoolfellows.  But  by 
the  failure  of  the  Ballantynes  in  the  fatal  commercial  crisis  of 
1825,  Scott  found  himself  ruined,  and  moreover  responsible  for 
a  gigantic  amount  of  debt.  He  might  easily  have  escaped  from 
his  liabilities  by  taking  advantage  of  the  bankrupt  law;  but  his 
sense  of  honor  was  so  high  and  delicate  that  he  only  asked  for 
time,  and  resolutely  set  himself  to  clear  off,  by  unremitting  literary 
toil,  the  vast  accumulation  of  nearly  one  hundred  and  twenty 
thousand  pounds.  He  all  but  accomplished  his  colossal  task,  but 
he  died  under  the  effort;  nor  does  the  history  of  either  liter- 
ature or  commerce  afford  a  brighter  example  of  probity. 

423.  In  1820  Scott  had  been  raised  to  the  dignity  of  the  bar- 
onetcy; for  the  enchanting  series  of  the  Waverley  Novels, 
though  anonymously  published,  were  universally  ascribed  to 
him,  as  to  the  only  man  in  Great  Britain  whose  pe.culiar  ac- 
quirements and  turn  of  genius  could  have  given  birth  to  them. 
Nevertheless,  the  mystery  of  the  true  authorship,  long  a  very 
transparent  one,  was  maintained  by  Scott  with  great  care;  and 
it  was  not  till  the  failure  of  Ballantynes'  house  rendered  conceal- 
ment any  longer  impossible  that  he  form  all}'  avowed  himself 
the  author  of  these  fictions.  Towards  the  year  1830  his  mind, 
exhausted  by  such  incessant  toil,  began  to  show  symptoms  of 
hopeless  weakness  ;  and  he  was  sent  abroad  to  Italy  and  the  Med- 
iterranean in  the  vain  hope  of  re-establishing  his  health.  He 
returned  home  to  die ;  and  after  lingering  in  a  state  of  almost 
complete  unconsciousness  for  a  short  time,  this  great  and  good 
man  terminated  his  earthly  career  on  the  2ist  of  September, 
1832,  at  Abbotsford.  His  personal  character  is  almost  perfect. 
High-minded,  generous  and  hospitable  to  the  extreme,  he  hardly 


A.  D.  1771-1832.  WALTER   SCOTT.  253 

had  an  enemy  or  a  misunderstanding  during  the  whole  of  a  long 
and  active  career.  He  was  the  delight  of  society ;  for  his  con- 
versation, though  unpretending,  kindly,  and  jovial,  was  filled 
with  that  union  of  old-world  lore  and  acute  and  picturesque 
observation  which  renders  his  works  so  enchanting;  and  there 
never  perhaps  was  a  man  so  totally  free  from  the  pettinesses 
and  affectations  to  which  men  of  letters  are  prone. 

424.  The  romantic  narrative  poems  of  Scott  form  an  epoch  in 
the  history  of  modern  literature.  In  their  subjects,  their  versi- 
fication, and  their  treatment,  they  were  an  innovation,  the  suc- 
cess of  which  was  as  remarkable  as  their  execution  was  brilliant. 
The  materials  were  derived  from  the  legends  and  exploits  of 
mediaeval  chivalry ;  and  the  persons  were  borrowed  partly  from 
history  and  partly  from  imagination.  He  seems  to  move  with 
most  freedom  in  that  picturesque  Border  region  with  whose  ro- 
mantic legends  he  was  so  wonderfully  familiar,  and  which  fur- 
nished, from  the  inexhaustible  stores  of  his  memory,  such  a 
mass  of  striking  incident  and  vivid  detail.  The  greatest  of 
these  poems  are  unquestionably  the  three  first  —  the  Lay  of  the 
Last  Minstrel,  (254=}  Marmion  (256-258}  and  the  Lady  of 
the  Lake.  (259}  According  to  Scott's  own  judgment,  the  in- 
terest of  the  Lay  depends  mainly  upon  the  style,  that  of  Mar- 
mion upon  the  descriptions,  that  of  the  Lady  of  the  Lake  upon 
the  incidents.  The  form  adopted  in  all  these  works,  though  it 
may  be  remotely  referred  to  a  revival  of  the  spirit  and  modes  of 
thought  of  the  ancient  French  and  Anglo-Norman  Trouv6res, 
was  more  immediately  suggested,  as  Scott  himself  has  confessed, 
by  the  example  of  Coleridge,  who  in  his  Christabel  gave  the 
key-note  upon  which  he  composed  his  vigorous  and  varied  har- 
mony. The  somewhat  monotonous  octosyllable-rhymed  verse 
of  the  Trouveres  Scott  had  the  good  taste  to  vary  and  enliven 
by  a  frequent  intermixture  of  all  other  sorts  of  English  verse, 
anapaestic,  trochaic,  or  dactylic.  But  his  principal  metrical  ex- 
pedient was  the  employment  of  two,  three,  or  four  verses  of 
octosyllabic  structure,  rhyming  together,  and  relieved  at  fre- 
quent intervals  by  a  short  Adonic  verse  of  six  syllables,  giving 
at  once  great  vigor  and  exquisite  melody.  The  plots  or  intrigues 
of  these  poems  are  in  general  neither  very  probable  nor  very 
logically  constructed,  but  they  allow  the  poet  ample  opportuni- 
ties for  striking  situations  and  picturesque  episodes.  The  char- 
acters are  discriminated  rather  by  broad  and  vigorous  strokes, 


254  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.      CHAP.  XXIII. 

than  by  any  attempt  at  moral  analysis  or  strong  delineation  of 
passion.  In  his  descriptions  of  scenery,  which  are  exceedingly 
varied  and  intensely  vivid,  Scott  sometimes  indulges  in  a  quaint 
but  graceful  vein  of  moralizing  which  beautifully  connects  in- 
animate nature  with  the  sentiments  of  the  human  heart.  A 
charming  instance  of  this  will  be  found  in  the  opening  descrip- 
tion of  Rokeby. 

425.  The  action  of  the  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel  is  drawn  from 
the  legends  of  Border  war ;  arid  necromantic  agency,  the  tourney, 
the  raid,  and  the  attack  on  a  strong  castle,  are  successively  de- 
scribed with  unabating  fire  and  energy.  The  midnight  expedi- 
tion of  Deloraine  to  the  wizard's  tomb  in  Melrose  Abbey,  the 
ordeal  of  battle,  the  alarm,  the  feast,  and  the  penitential  pro- 
cession, are  painted  with  the  force  and  picturesqueness  of  real 
scenes.  In  Marmion  the  main  action  is  of  a  loftier  and  more 
historical  nature,  and  the  catastrophe  is  made  to  coincide  with 
the  description  of  the  great  battle  of  Flodden,  in  which  Scott 
gave  earnest  of  powers  in  this  department  of  painting  hardly 
inferior  to  those  of  Homer  himself.  It  is  indeed  "a  fearful 
battle  rendered  you  in  music;"  and  the  whole  scene,  from  the 
rush  and  fury  of  the  onset  down  to  the  least  heraldic  detail  or 
minute  trifle  of  armor  and  equipment,  is  delineated  with  the 
truth  of  an  eye-witness.  In  the  Lady  of  the  Lake  he  broke  up 
new  and  fertile  ground;  he  brought  into  contact  the  wild  half- 
savage  mountaineers  of  the  Highlands  and  the  refined  and  chi- 
valrous court  of  James  V.  The  exquisite  scenery  of  Loch  Katrine 
became,  when  invested  by  the  magic  of  the  descriptions,  the 
chief  object  of  the  traveller's  pilgrimage ;  and  it  is  no  exaggera- 
tion to  say,  as  Macaulay  has  done,  that  the  glamour  of  the  great 
poet's  genius  has  for  ever  hallowed  even  the  barbarous  tribes 
whose  manners  are  here  invested  with  all  the  charms  of  fiction. 
In  no  other  of  his  poems  is  that  noble  and  gallant  spirit  —  the 
fine  flower  of  chivalric  bravery  and  courtesy  —  which  so  univer- 
sally pervades  Scott's  poetry  as  it  animated  his  personal  char- 
acter, so  powerfully  manifested.  Though  the  tale  of  Rokeby 
contains  many  beautiful  descriptions,  and  exhibits  strenuous 
efforts  to  draw  and  contrast  individual  characters  with  force,  the 
epoch  —  that  of  the  Civil  Wars  of  Charles  the  First's  reign  — 
was  one  in  which  Scott  obviously  felt  himself  less  at  home  than 
in  his  well-beloved  feudal  ages. 

426.    The  last  of  the  greater  poems,  the  Lord  of  the  Isles,  went 


A.  D.  1771-1832.          WALTER   SCOTT.  255 

back  to  Scott's  favorite  epoch ;  and  the  voyage  of  the  hero-king, 
Robert  Bruce,  among  the  Isles,  the  scenes  in  the  Castle  of 
Artornish,  the  description  of  the  savage  and  terrific  desolation 
of  the  Western  Highlands,  show  little  diminution  in  picturesque 
power.  The  Battle  of  Bannockburn  reminds  us  of  the  hand 
that  drew  the  field  of  Flodden ;  and  Scott's  ardent  patriotism 
must  have  found  a  special  pleasure  in  delineating  the  great  vic- 
tory of  his  country's  independence.  Harold  the  Dauntless  and 
the  Bridal  of  Triermain  are  written  in  a  less  vigorous  style 
than  the  earlier  poems;  the  latter  indeed  was  playfully  intended 
to  pass  off  upon  the  public  as  the  production  of  Scott's  friend 
Erskine.  In  Triermain  we  see  a  somewhat  effeminate  and  the- 
atrical treatment  of  a  striking  legend  which  figures  in  the  cycle 
of  the  exploits  of  Arthur;  and  Harold  strives  to  combine  the 
spirit  of  the  old  Berserk  sagas  with  Christian  and  Chivalric 
manners,  and  the  union  of  the  two  elements  is  too  discordant 
to  be  pleasing.  The  Vision  of  Don  Roderick,  though  based 
upon  a  striking  and  picturesque  tradition,  is  principally  a  song 
of  triumph  over  the  recent  defeat  of  the  French  arms  in  the 
Peninsula;  but  the  moment  he  leaves  the  mediaeval  battle-field 
Scott  seems  to  lose  half  his  power;  in  this  poem,  as  in  Waterloo, 
his  combats  are  neither  those  of  feudal  knights  nor  of  modern 
soldiers,  and  there  is  throughout  a  struggle  painfully  visible  to 
be  emphatic  and  picturesque. 

427.  If  we  apply  to  the  long  and  splendid  series  of  prose  fic- 
tions generally  known  under  the  name  of  the  Waverlcy  Novels, 
the  same  rough  analytical  distribution  as  has  been  adopted  in  a 
former  chapter  for  the  purpose  of  giving  a  classification  of 
Shakspeare's  dramas,  we  shall  obtain  the  following  results. 
The  novels  are  twenty-nine  in  number,  of  varied,  though  for 
the  most  part  extraordinary  degrees  of  excellence.  They  may 
be  divided  into  the  two  main  classes  of  Historical,  or  such  as 
derive  their  principal  interest  from  the  delineation  of  some  real 
persons  or  events,  and  Fictitious,  or  those  which  are  entirely  or 
principally  founded  upon  Private  Life  or  Family  Legend,  and 
which  are  more  remotely,  if  at  all,  connected  with  history.  The 
first  of  these  two  great  classes  will  naturally  subdivide  into  sub- 
ordinate categories,  according  to  the  epoch  or  country  selected 
by  the  author,  as  Scottish,  English,  and  Continental  history. 
According  to  this  rude,  and  merely  approximative  method  of 
classification,  we  shall  range  seven  works  under  the  class  of 


256 


ENGLISH  LITERATURE.      CHAP.  XXIIL 


Scottish  history,  seven  under  English,  also  of  various  epochs, 
and  three  will  belong  to  the  Continental  department;  while  the 
novels  mainly  assignable  to  the  head  of  Private  Life  —  some- 
times, it  is  true,  more  or  less  connected,  as  in  the  cases  of  Rob 
Roy  and  Redgauntlet,  with  historical  events,  —  are  twelve  in 
number.  The  latter  class  are  for  the  most  part  of  purely  Scottish 
scenery  and  character.  The  following  rough  scheme  or  plan  of 
the  above  arrangement  will  at  least  be  found  to  assist  the  mem- 
ory in  recalling  such  a  vast  and  varied  cycle  of  works  :  — 

I.  HISTORY. 
I.  SCOTTISH  .  .  .    Waverley.     The  period  of  the  Pretender's 

attempt  in  1745. 
Legend  of  Montrose.     The   Civil  War  in 

the  seventeenth  century. 
Old  Mortality.    The  rebellion  of  the  Cove- 
*  nanters. 

Monastery,')™*  deP°f  ^"  and  imprison- 

Abb  t  \      ment  of   Mary   Queen    of 

>      Scots. 

Fair  Maid  of  Perth.    The  Reign  of  Robert 
III. 

Castle  Dangerous.    The  time  of  the  Black 

Douglas. 

II.  ENGLISH    .   .   .   Ivanhoe.  (263*)    -The    return    of  Richard 
Cceur  de  Lion  from  the  Holy  Land. 

Kcnil-worth.     The  reign  of  Elizabeth. 

Fortunes  of  Nigel.     Reign  of  James  I. 

Peveril  of  the  Peak.     Reign  of  Charles  II. ; 
period  of  the  pretended  Catholic  plot. 

Betrothed.  The  wars  of  the  Welsh  Marches. 

Talisman.     The  third  Crusade :    Richard 
Coeur  de  Lion. 

Woodstock.     The  Civil  War  and  Common- 
wealth. 

III.  CONTINENTAL  .  Quentin  Durivard.    Louis  XI.  and  Charles 
the  Bold. 

Anne  of  Geierstein.    The  epoch  of  the  bat- 
tle of  Nancy. 

Count  Robert  of  Paris.     The  Crusaders  at 
Byzantium. 


A.  D.  1771-1832.  WALTER   SCOTT.  257 

II.  PRIVATE  LIFE  AND  MIXED. 


Guy  Mannering. 

Antiquary. 

Black  Dwarf. 

Rob  Roy. 

Heart  of  Midlothian.  (262) 

Bride  of  Lammermoor. 


Pirate. 

St.  Ronarfs  Well. 
Red  Gauntlet. 
Surgeon's  Daughter. 
Tivo  Drovers. 
Highland  Widow. 


428.  In  this  unequalled  series  of  fictions,  the  author's  power 
of  bringing  near  and  making  palpable  to  us  the  remote  and  his- 
torical, whether  of  persons,  places,  or  events,  is  equally  wonder- 
ful with  the  skill  and  certainty  with  which  he  clothes  with  solidity, 
so  to  say,  the  conceptions  of  his  own  imagination.     In  this  re- 
spect his  genius  has  something  in  common  with  that  of  Shak- 
speare,  as  shown  in  his  historical  dramas.     Scott  was  generally 
careless  in  the  construction  of  his  plots :  he  wrote  with  great 
rapidity,  and  aimed  rather  at  picturesque  effect  than  at  logical 
coherency  of  intrigue ;    and  his  powerful  imagination  carried 
him  away  so  vehemently,  that  the  delight  he  must  have  felt  in 
developing  the  humors  and  adventures  of  one  of  those  inimi- 
table persons  he  had  invented,  sometimes  left  him  no  space  for 
the  elaboration  of  the  pre-arranged  intrigue.     An  example  of 
this  will  be  found,  among  a  multitude  of  others,  in  the  case  of 
Dugald  Dalgetty,  or  Baillie  Nicol   Jarvie.     His   style,   though 
always  easy  and  animated,  is  far  from  being  careful  or  elab- 
orate ;  and  a  curious  amount  of  Scotticisms  will  be  met  with  in 
almost  every  chapter.     Description,  whether  of  scenery,   inci- 
dent, or  personal  appearance,  is  very  abundant  in  his  works ; 
and  few  of  his  countrymen,  whether  North  or  South  Britons, 
will  be  found  to  complain  of  his  luxuriance  ia  this  respect,  for 
it  has  filled  his  pages  with  bright  and  vivid  pictures  that  no  lapse 
of  time  can  efface  from  the  reader's  memory. 

429.  In  the  delineation  of  character,  as  well  as  in  the  painting 
of  external  nature,  Scott  proceeds  objectively :  his  mind  was  a 
mirror  that  faithfully  reflected  the  external  surfaces  of  things. 
He  does  not  show  the  profound  analysis  which  penetrates  into 
the  internal  mechanism  of  the  passions  and  anatomizes  the  na- 
ture of  man,  nor  does  he  communicate,   like  Richardson  and 
Byron,  his  own  personal  coloring  to  the  creations  of  his  fancy; 
but  he  sets  before  you  so  brightly,  so  transparently,  so  vividly, 
all  that  is  necessary  to  give. a  distinct  idea,  that  his  images  re- 
main indelibly  in  the  memory. 


258  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.      CHAP.  XXIV. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

BYRON,  MOORE,  SHELLEY,  AND  OTHER  POETS. 

430.  THE  immense  influence  exerted  by  Byron  on  the  taste  and 
sentiment  of  Europe  has  not  yet  passed  away,  and,  though  far 
from  being  so  supreme  and  despotic  as  it  once  was,  is  not  likely 
to  be  ever  effaced.  He  called  himself,  in  one  of  his  poems,  "  the 
grand  Napoleon  of  the  realms  of  rhyme ;  "  and  there  is  some 
similarity  between  the  suddenness  and  splendor  of  his  literary 
career,  and  the  meteoric  rise  and  domination  of  the  First  Bona- 
parte. They  were  both,  in  their  respective  departments,  the  off- 
spring of  revolution ;  and  both,  after  reigning  with  absolute 
power  for  some  time,  were  deposed  from  their  supremacy,  though 
their  reign  will  leave  profound  traces  in  the  history  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  GEORGE  GORDON  NOEL  BYRON  (1788-1824) 
{264-277}  was  born  in  London  in  1788,  and  was  the  son  of  an 
unprincipled  profligate  and  of  a  Scottish  heiress  of  ancient  and 
illustrious  extraction;  who  on  being  deserted  by  her  worthless 
husband,  retired  with  her  boy  to  Aberdeen,  where  they  lived  for 
several  years  in  very  straitened  circumstances.  The  future  poet 
inherited  from  his  mother  a  susceptibility  almost  morbid,  which 
his  early  training  under  her  capricious  guidance  must  have  still 
further  aggravated.  He  was  about  eleven  years  old  when  the 
death  of  his  grand-uncle,  a  strange,  eccentric,  and  misanthropic 
recluse,  made  him  heir-presumptive  to  the  baronial  title  of  one 
of  the  most  ancient  aristocratic  houses  in  England,  which  had 
been  for  several  generations  notorious  for  the  vices  and  even 
crimes  of  its  representatives.  With  the  title  he  inherited  large 
though  embarrassed  estates,  and  the  noble  picturesque  residence 
6f  Newstead  Abbey  near  Nottingham.  He  was  now  sent  first  to 
Harrow  School,  and  afterwards  to  Trinity  College,  Cambridge. 
At  college  he  became  notorious  for  the  irregularities  of  his  con- 
duct. He  was  a  greedy  though  desultory  reader;  and  his  imagi- 
nation appears  to  have  been  especially  attracted  to  Oriental 
history  and  travels. 


A.  I).  1788-1824.  LORD  BYRON.  259 

431.  It  was  while  at  Cambridge  that  Byron  made  his  first  lit- 
erary attempt,  in  the  publication  of  a  small  volume  of  fugitive 
poems  entitled  Hours  of  Idleness,  by  Lord  Byron,  a  Minor.    An 
unfavorable  criticism  of  this  work  in  the  Edinburgh  Review  threw 
him  into  a  frenzy  of  rage.     He  instantly  set  about  taking  his 
revenge  in  the  satire  English  Bards  and  Scotch  Reviewers,  in 
which  he  involved  in  one  common  storm  of  invective  not  only 
his  enemies  of  the  Edinburgh  Review,  but  almost  all  the  literary 
men  of  the  day,  —  Walter  Scott,  Moore,  and  a  thousand  others, 
from  whom  he  had  received  no  provocation  whatever,  —  a  vio- 
lence of  which  he  soon  became  heartily  ashamed.    Though  writ- 
ten in  the  classical,  declamatory,  and  regular  style  of  Gifford, 
himself  an  imitator  of  Pope,  the  English  Bards  shows  a  fervor 
and  power  of  expression  that  enables  us  to^see  in  it,  dimly,  the 
earnest  of  Byron's  intense  and  fiery  genius,  which  was  afterwards 
to  exhibit  itself  under  such  different  literary  forms. 

432.  Byron  now  went  abroad  to  travel,   and  filled  his  mind 
with  the  picturesque  life  and  scenery  of  Greece,  Turke'y,  and  the 
East,  accumulating   those  stores  of  character  and   description 
which  he  poured  forth  with  such  royal  splendor  in  his  poems. 
The  two  first  cantos  of  CJtilde  Harold  absolutely  took  the  public 
by  storm,  and  at  once  placed  the  young  poet  at  the  summit  of 
social  and  literary  popularity.     These  were   followed   in  rapid 
succession  by  the  Giaour,  (268,  269}  Bride  of  Abydos,  (270} 
Corsair,  (271},  Lara,  in  which  Byron  broke  up  new  ground  in 
describing  the  manners,  scenery,  and  wild  passions  of  the  East 
and  of  Greece  —  a  region  as  picturesque  as   that  of  his  rival 
Scott,  as  well  known  to  him  by  experience,  and  as  new  and  fresh 
to  the  public  he  addressed.     Returning  to  England  in  the  full 
blaze  of  his  dawning  fame,  the  poet  became  the  lion  of  the  day. 
He  at  this  period  married  Miss  Milbanke,  a  lady  of  considerable 
expectations;  but  the  union  was  an  unhappy  one,  and  in  about 
a  year  Lady  Byron  suddenly  quitted  her  husband.     Her  reasons 
for  taking  this  step  will  ever  remain  a  mystery.    Deeply  wounded 
by  the  scandal  of  this  separation,  the  poet  again  left  England; 
and  from  thenceforth  his  life  was  passed  uninterruptedly  on  the 
Continent,  in  Switzerland,  in  Italy,  and  in  Greece,  where  he  sol- 
aced his  embittered  spirit  with  misanthropical  attacks  upon  all 
that  his  countrymen  held  sacred,  and  gradually  plunged  deeper 
and  deeper  into  a  slough  of  sensuality  and  vice.   While  at  Geneva 
he  produced  the  third  canto  of  Childe  Plarold,  the  Prisoner  of 


260  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.      CHAP.  XXIV. 

Chilian,  (273}  Manfred,  (274}  and  the  Lament  of  Tasso. 
Between  1818  and  1821  he  was  principally  residing  at  Venice  and 
Ravenna;  and  at  this  period  he  wrote  Mazcppa,  the  first  five 
cantos  of  Don  yuan,  and  most  of  his  tragedies,  as  Marino  Fa- 
liero,  Sardanapalus,  the  Ttvo  Foscari,  Werner,  Cain,  and  the 
Deformed  Transformed,  in  many  of  which  the  influence  of  Shel- 
ley's literary  manner  and  philosophical  tenets  is  more  or  less 
traceable;  and  here  too  he  terminated  Don  Juan,  at  least  as  far 
as  it  ever  was  completed.  In  1823  he  determined  to  devote  his 
fortune  and  his  influence  to  the  aid  of  the  Greeks,  then  struggling 
for  their  independence.  He  arrived  at  Missolonghi  at  the  begin- 
ning of  1824 ;  where,  after  giving  striking  indications  of  his  prac- 
tical talents,  as  well  as  of  his  ardor  and  self-sacrifice,  he  died  en 
the  i  Qth  of  April  of  the  same  year,  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-six. 

433.  The  earliest  considerable  effort  of  Byron,  and  in  many 
respects   his  most  remarkable  composition,  is    Childe  Harold, 
which  consists  of  a  series  of  gloomy  but  intensely  poetical  mono- 
logues, put  into  the  mouth"  of  a  jaded  and  misanthropic  volup- 
tuary, who  takes,  refuge  from  his  disenchantment  of  pleasure  in 
the  contemplation  of  the  lovely  or  historical  scenes  of  travel. 
The  first  two  cantos  are  somewhat  feeble  and  tame  as  compared 
with  the  strength  and  massive  power  of  the  two  later,  which  are 
the  productions  of  his  more  mature  faculties.     The  third  canto 
contains  the  magnificent  description  of  the  Battle  of  Waterloo, 
and  bitter  and  melancholy  but  sublime  musings  on  the  vanity  of 
military  fame.     The  poem  is  written  in  the  Spenserian  stanza; 
and  in  the  beginning  the  poet  makes  an  effort  to  give  something 
of  the  quaint  and  archaic  character  of  the  Fairy  Queen ;  but  he 
soon  throws  off  the  useless  and  embarrassing  restraint.     In  in- 
tensity of  feeling,  in  richness  and  harmony  of  expression,  and  in 
an  imposing  tone  of  gloomy,  sceptical,  and  misanthropic  reflec- 
tion, Childe  Harold  stands  alone  in  our  literature. 

434.  The  romantic  tales  of  Byron  are  all  marked  by  similar 
peculiarities  of  thought  and  treatment,  though  they  may  differ 
in  the  kind  and   degree  of  their   respective  excellences.     The 
Giaour,   (268}  the  Siege  of  Corinth,  Mazeppa,  Parisina.  the 
Prisoner  of  Chillon,  (273}  and  the  Bride  of  Abydos,  are  written 
in  that  somewhat  irregular  and  flowing  versification  which  Scott 
brought  into  fashion ;  while  the  Corsair,  Lara,  and  the  Island, 
are  in  the  regular  English  rhymed  heroic  measure.    These  poems 
are,  in  general,  fragmentary;  they  are  made  up  of  intensely  in- 


A.  D.  1788-1824.  LOED  BYRON.  261 

teresting  moments  of  passion  and  action.  Neither  in  these  nor 
in  any  of  his  works  does  Byron  show  the  least  power  of  deline- 
ating variety  of  character.  There  are  but  two  personages  in  all 
his  poems —  a  man  in  whom  unbridled  passions  have  desolated 
the  heart,  and  left  it  hard  and  impenetrable;  a  man  contemp- 
tuous of  his  kind,  sceptical  and  despairing,  yet  occasionally  feel- 
ing the  softer  emotions  with  a  singular  intensity.  The  woman  is 
the  woman  of  the  East  —  sensual,  devoted,  and  loving,  but  lov- 
ing with  the  unreasoning  attachment  of  the  lower  animals. 
These  elements  of  character,  meagre  and  unnatural  as  they  are, 
are  however  set  before  us  with  such  consummate  power  that  the 
young  and  inexperienced  reader  invariably  loses  sight  of  their 
contradictions.  In  all  these  poems  we  meet  with  inimitable  de- 
scriptions, tender,  animated,  or  profound,  which  harmonize  with 
the  tone  of  the  dramatis  personce :  thus  the  famous  comparison 
of  enslaved  Greece  to  a  corpse  in  the  Giaour,  the  night-scene 
and  the  battle-scene  in  the  Corsair  and  Lara,  the  eve  of  the 
storming  of  the  city  in  the  Siege  of  Corinth,  and  the  fiery  energy 
of  the  attack  in  the  same  poem,  the  exquisite  opening  lines  in 
Parisina,  besides  a  multitude  of  others,  might  be  adduced  to 
prove  Byron's  extraordinary  genius  in  communicating  to  his  pic- 
tures the  individuality  and  the  coloring  of  his  own  feelings  and 
character. 

435.  In  Beppo  and  the  Vision  of  Judgment  Byron  has  ven- 
tured upon  the  gay,  airy,  and  satirical.  The  former  of  these 
poems  is  not  over-moral ;  but  it  is  exquisitely  playful  and  spar- 
kling. The  Vision  is  a  most  severe  attack  upon  Southey,  parody- 
ing the  very  poor  and  pretentious  verses  which  the  Laureate 
composed  as  a  sort  of  apotheosis  of  George  III. ;  and  though 
somewhat  ferocious  and  truculent,  is  exceedingly  brilliant.  The 
Island  is  a  striking  incident  extracted  from  the  narrative  of  the 
famous  mutiny  of  the  Bounty,  when  Captain  Bligh  and  his  of- 
ficers were  cast  off  by  his  rebellious  crew  in  an  open  boat,  and  the 
mutineers,  under  the  command  of  Christian,  established  them- 
selves in  half-savage  life  on  Pitcairn's  Island,  where  their  descen- 
dants were  recently  living.  Among  the  less  commonly  read  of 
Byron's  longer  poems  we  may  mention  the  Age  of  Bronze,  a 
vehement  satirical  declamation ;  the  Curse  of  Minerva,  directed 
against  the  spoliation  of  the  frieze  of  the  Parthenon  by  Lord 
Elgin;  the  Lament  of  Tasso,  and  the  Prophecy  of  Dante,  the 
latter  written  in  the  difficult  terza  rima,  the  first  attempt  of  any 


262  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.       CHAP.  XXIV. 

English  poet  to  employ  that  measure.  The  Dream  is  in  some 
respects  the  most  touching  of  Byron's  minor  works.  It  is  the 
narrative,  in  the  form  of  a  vision,  of  his  early  love-sorrow  for 
Mary  Chaworth.  There  is  hardly,  in  the  whole  range  of  litera- 
ture, so  tender,  so  lofty,  and  so  condensed  a  life-drama  as  that 
narrated  in  these  verses. 

436.  The  dramatic  works  of  Byron  are  in  many  respects  the 
precise  opposite  of  what  might  a  priori  have  been  expected  from 
the  peculiar  character  of  his  genius.  In  form  they  are  cold, 
severe,  and  lofty,  partaking  but  little  of  the  manner  of  Shak- 
speare.  Artful  involution  of  intrigue  they  have  not;  but  though 
singularly  destitute  of  powerful  passion  they  are  full  of  intense 
sentiment.  The  finest  of  them  is  Manfred,  which,  however,  is 
not  so  much  a  drama  as  a  dramatic  poem;  and  consists  not  of 
action  represented  in  dialogue,  but  of  a  series  of  sublime  solilo- 
quies, in  which  the  mysterious  hero  describes  nature,  and  pours 
forth  his  despair  and  his  self-pity.  In  this  work,  as  well  as  in 
Cain,  we  see  the  full  expression  of  Byron's  sceptical  spirit,  and 
the  tone  of  half-melancholy,  half-mocking  misanthropy  which 
colors  so  much  of  his  writings,  and  which  was  in  him  partly 
sincere  and  partly  put  on  for  effect.  The  more  exclusively 
historical  pieces  —  Marino  Faliero,  the  Two  Foscari — are  de- 
rived from  Venetian  annals ;  but  neither  in  the  one  nor  in  the 
other  has  Byron  clothed  the  events  with  that  living  reality 
which  the  subjects  would  have  received  even  from  Rowe  or  Ot- 
way.  There  is  in  these  dramas  a  complete  failure  in  variety  of 
character;  and  the  interest  is  concentrated  on  the  obstinate  harp- 
ing of  the  principal  personages  upon  one  topic  —  their  own 
wrongs  and  humiliations.  In  Sardanapalus  the  remoteness  of 
the  epoch  chosen,  and  our  total  ignorance  of  the  interior  life  of 
those  times,  remove  the  piece  into  the  region  of  fiction.  But 
the  character  of  Myrrha,  though  beautiful,  is  an  anachronism 
and  an  impossibility;  and  the  antithetic  contrast  between  the 
effeminacy  and  the  sudden  heroism  in  Sardanapalus  belongs 
rather  to  satire  or  to  moral  disquisition  than  to  tragedy.  Wer- 
ner, a  piece  of  domestic  interest,  is  bodily  borrowed,  as  far  as 
regards  its  incidents,  and  even  much  of  its  dialogue,  from  the 
Hungarian's  Story  in  Miss  Lee's  'Canterbury  Tales;'  indeed, 
Bvron's  share  in  its  composition  extends  little  farther  than  the 
cutting  up  of  Miss  Lee's  prose  into  tolerably  regular,  but  often 
very  indifferent  lines. 


A.  D.  1779-1852.         THOMAS  MOOEE.  263 

437.  Don  Juan,  written  in  the  ottava  r/wa,  is  the  longest,  the 
most  singular,  and  in  some  respects  the  most  characteristic,  of 
Byron's  poems.  It  is,  indeed,  one  of  the  most  significant  pro- 
ductions of  the  age  of  revolution  and  scepticism  which  preceded 
its  appearance.  The  outline  of  the  story  is  the  old  Spanish  le- 
gend of  Don  Juan  de  Tenorio,  upon  which  have  been  founded  so 
many  dramatic  works,  among  the  rest  the  Festin  de  Pierre  of 
Moliere  and  the  immortal  opera  of  Mozart.  The  fundamental 
idea  of  the  atheist  and  voluptuary  enabled  Byron  to  carry  his 
hero  through  various  adventures,  serious  and  comic,  to  exhibit 
his  unrivalled  power  of  description,  and  left  him  unfettered  by 
any  necessities  of  time  and  place.  Even  in  the  imperfect  state 
in  which  it  was  left,  it  consists  of  sixteen  cantos,  and  there  is  no 
reason  why  it  should  not  have  been  indefinitely  extended  It 
was  the  author's  intention  to  bring  his  hero's  adventures  to  a 
regular  termination,  but  so  desultory  a  series  of  incidents  has 
no  real  coherency.  The  merit  of  this  extraordinary  poem  is  the 
richness  of  ideas,  thoughts,  and  images ;  its  witty  allusion  and 
sarcastic  reflection  ;  and  above  all,  the  constant  passage  from  the 
loftiest  and  tenderest  tone  of  poetry  to  the  most  familiar  and 
mocking  style.  The  tone  of  morality  is  throughout  very  low 
and  selfish,  even  materialistic;  but  in  spite  of  much  superficial 
flippancy,  this  poem  contains  an  immense  mass  of  profound  and 
melancholy  satire ;  and  in  a  very  large  number  of  serious  pas- 
sages Byron  has  shown  a  power,  picturesqueness,  and  pathos 
which  in  other  works  may  indeed  be  paralleled,  but  cannot  be 
surpassed. 

408.  THOMAS  MOORE  (1779-1852),  the  personal  friend  and 
biographer  of  Byron,  was  born  in  Dublin,  of  humble  paren- 
tage. (278-282)  After  distinguishing  himself  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Dublin,  he  passed  over  to  London,  nominally  with  the 
intention  of  studying  law  in  the  Temple ;  but  he  soon  appeared 
before  the  public  as  the  translator  of  the  Odes  of  Anacrcon,  a 
task  for  which  his  elegant  and  varied,  though  perhaps  not  very 
profound,  scholarship  rendered  him  sufficiently  fit.  This  work 
was  published  by  subscription,  and  dedicated  to  the  Prince 
Regent;  and  immediately  introduced  Moore  into  that  gay  and 
fashionable  society  of  which  he  remained  all  his  life  a  somewhat 
too  assiduous  frequenter.  His  dignity  of  character,  perhaps, 
suffered  from  his  passion  for  the  frivolous  triumphs  of  fashion- 
able circles ;  but  Moore  was  during  his  whole  life  the  spoiled 


264  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.       CHAP.  XXIV. 

child  of  popularity.  In  1804  he  obtained  a  small  government 
post  in  the  island  of  Bermuda,  which,  indeed,  enabled  him  to 
'visit  America  and  the  Antilles,  and  drew  from  him  some  of  the 
most  sparkling  of  his  early  poems.  Neglecting  the  duties  of  his 
station,  he  became  responsible,  by  the  dishonesty  of  a  subordi- 
nate, for  a  considerable  sum  of  public  money.  This  claim  of  the 
Crown  he  afterwards  discharged  by  his  literary  labor;  and 
nearly  the  whole  of  his  long  life  was  devoted  to  the  production 
of  a  rapid  succession  of  compositions,  both  in  prose  and  verse, 
some  of  which  obtained  an  immense  and  all  a  respectable 
success.  As  an  Irishman  and  Catholic,  Moore  was  naturally  a 
Whig,  "  and  something  more;"  which  circumstance  supplied 
the  biting  and  yet  pleasant  sarcasm  which  seasons  his  political 
pasquinades.  He  spent  the  latter  part  of  his  life  in  a  cottage 
near  Bowood,  the  residence  of  the  Marquess  of  Lansdowne,  who 
had  cherished  his  friendship. 

439.  The  poetical,  which  is  also  the  larger,  portion  of  Moore's 
writings  consists  chiefly  of  lyrics,  whether  serious  or  comic,  the 
most  celebrated  collection  among  them  being  the  Irish  Melodies. 
The  version  of  Anacreon,  though  tolerably  faithful  in   the  gen- 
eral rendering  of  the  original,  is  far  too  brilliant  and  ornamental 
in  its  language  to  give  a  correct  idea  of  the  manner  of  the  Greek 
poet.     In  his  juvenile  poems,  as  well  as  in  the  collection  pub- 
lished under  the  pseudonyme  of  Thomas  Little,  in  the  produc- 
tions suggested  by  his  visit  to  America  and  the  West  Indies,  and 
in  the  Odes  and  Epistles,  we  see  that  ingenious  and  ever- watchful 
invention  which  forms    a  prominent  characteristic  of  Moore's 
genius;  and  also  the  strongly  erotic  and  voluptuous  tendency  of 
sentiment,  which  is  sometimes   carried  beyond  the  bounds  of 
good  taste  and  morality. 

440.  The  Irish  Melodies,  a  collection   of  about  one   hundred 
and  twenty-five  songs,  (279-282}  were  composed  in  order  to 
furnish  appropriate  words  to  a  great  number  of  beautiful  na- 
tional airs,  some  of  great  antiquity,  which  had  been  degraded  by 
becoming  gradually  associated  with  lines  often  vulgar  and  not 
always    descent.      Patriotism,    love,    and  conviviality  form   the 
subject-matter  of  these  charming  lyrics ;  their  versification  has 
never  been  surpassed  for  melody  and  neatness  :  the  language  is 
always  clear,  appropriate,  and  concise,  and  sometimes  reaches 
a  high  degree  of  majesty,  vigor,  or  tenderness.     Though  Moore 
is  destitute  of  the  intense  sincerity  of  Burns,  or  of  that  exquisite 


A.  D.  1779-1852.         THOMAS  MOORE.  265 

sensibility  to  popular  feeling  which  makes  Beranger  the  darling 
of  the  middle  and  lower  classes  of  France,  jet  he  appeals,  as 
they  do,  to  the  universal  sentiments  of  his  countrymen,  and  his 
popularity  is  proportionally  great.  The  National  Airs,  which 
were  intended  to  be  set  to  tunes  peculiar  to  various  countries, 
exhibit  the  same  exquisite  musical  sensibility  and  the  same  neat- 
ness of  expression  as  the  Irish  Melodies  ;  but  they  are  naturally 
inferior  to  them  in  intensity  of  patriotic  feeling.  A  small  col- 
lection of  Sacred  Songs  affords  frequent  examples  both  of  the 
merits  and  defects  of  Moore's  lyrical  genius,  though  the  latter 
are  perhaps  more  prominent  as  destructive  occasionally  of  the 
lofty  religious  tone  which  the  subject  required  him  to  maintain. 
All  these  collections,  however,  exhibit  a  high  polish,  an  almost 
fastidious  finish  of  style,  which  makes  them  models  of  perfection 
in  their  peculiar  manner. 

44 L  The  political  squibs  of  Moore  were  directed  against  the 
Tory  party  in  general,  and  were  showered  with  peculiar  vivacity 
and  stinging  effect  upon  the  Regent,  afterwards  George  IV., 
Lord  Eldon,  Castlereagh,  and  all  those  who  were  opposed  to  the 
granting  of  any  relaxation  to  the  Irish  Catholics.  His  Odes  on 
Cash,  Corn,  and  Catholics,  his  Fables  for  the  Holy  Alliance, 
show  an  inexhaustible  invention  of  quaint  and  ingenious  ideas, 
and  the  power  of  bringing  the  most  apparently  remote  allusions 
to  bear  upon  the  person  or  thing  selected  for  attack.  Some  of 
the  most  celebrated  of  these  brilliant  pasquinades  were  combined 
into  a  sort  of  story,  as  for  example  the  Fudge  Family  in  Paris, 
purporting  to  be  a  series  of  letters  written  from  France  just  at 
the  period  of  the  Restoration  of  the  Bourbons.  Nothing  can  be 
more  animated,  brilliant,  and  humorous  than  the  description  of 
the  motley  life  and  the  giddy  whirl  of  amusement  in  Paris  at 
that  memorable  moment ;  and  the  whole  is  seasoned  with  such 
a  multitude  of  personal  and  political  allusions,  that  the  Fudge 
Family  will  probably  ever  retain  its  popularity,  as  both  a  social 
and  political  sketch  of  a  most  interesting  episode  in  modern 
European  history. 

442.  The  longer  and  more  ambitious  poems  of  Moore  are 
JLaila  Rookh  and  the  Loves  of  the  Angels,  the  former  being  im- 
measurably the  better,  both  as  regards  the  interest  of  the  story 
and  the  power  with  which  it  is  treated.  The  plan  of  Lalla 
Rookh  is  original  and  happy;  it  consists  of  a  little  prose  love- 
tale  describing  the  journey  of  a  beautiful  Oriental  princess  from 


266  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.       CHAP.  XXIV. 

Delhi  to  Bucharia,  where  she  is  to  meet  her  betrothed  husband, 
the  king  of  the  latter  country.  The  prose  portion  of  the  work 
is  inimitably  beautiful;  the  whole  style  is  sparkling  with  Ori- 
ental gems,  and  perfumed,  as  it  were,  with  Oriental  musk  and 
roses  :  and  the  very  abuse  of  brilliancy  and  of  voluptuous  lan- 
guor, which  in  another  kind  of  composition  might  be  regarded 
as  meretricious,  only  adds  to  the  Oriental  effect.  The  four 
poems  to  which  the  above  story  forms  a  setting  are  the  Veiled 
Prophet,  the  Fire  Worshippers,  Paradise  and  the  Peri,  (278} 
and  the  Light  of  the  Harem;  all,  of  course,  of  an  Eastern 
character,  and  the  two  first  in  some  degree  historical  in  their 
subject.  The  longest  and  most  ambitious  is  the  first,  which  is 
wrritten  in  the  rhymed  heroic  couplet,  while  the  others  are  com- 
posed in  that  irregular  animated  versification  which  Walter 
Scott  and  Byron  had  brought  into  fashion. 

443.  The  Loves  of  the  Angels,  the  only  remaining  poem  of 
of  any  length,  need  not  detain  us  long.  It  is  manifestly  inferior 
to  Lalla  Rookh,  not  only  in  the  impracticable  nature  of  its  sub- 
ject, but  in  the  monotony  of  its  treatment.  The  fundamental 
idea  is  based  upon  that  famous  and  much  misunderstood  pas- 
sage of  the  Book  of  Genesis,  where  it  is  said,  that  in  the  prime- 
val ages  "the  sons  of  God"  became  enamoured  of  "  the  daugh- 
ters of  men,"  the  issue  of  which  connection  was  the  Giants. 
Moore  introduces  three  of  these  angels,  who  by  yielding  to  an 
earthly  love  have  forfeited  the  privileges  of  their  celestial  na- 
ture, and  who  relate,  each  in  his  turn,  the  story  of  their  passion 
and  its  punishment.  This  poem  was  written  during  Moore's 
retirement  to  Paris,  and  bears  some  traces  of  the  influence  of 
Byron's  somewhat  similar,  and  not  much  more  successful  pro- 
duction, Heaven  and  Earth,  which  was  in  its  turn  generated  to 
a  certain  degree  by  the  writings  of  Shelley. 

444..  The  chief  prose  works  of  Moore  are  the  three  biogra- 
phies of  Sheridan,  Byron,  and  Lord  Edwa:*d  Fitzgerald,  and  the 
tale  of  the  Epicurean.  The  last,  a  narrative  of  the  first  ages- of 
Christianity,  describes  the  conversion,,  under  the  influence  of 
love,  of  a  young  Athenian  philosopher,  who  travels  into  Egypt, 
and  is  initiated  into  the  mysterious  worship  of  Isis.  Moore's 
biographies,  especially  that  of  Byron,  are  of  great  value.  It  is 
particularly  valuable  from  consisting,  as  far  as  possible,  of  ex- 
tracts from  Byron's  own  journals  and  correspondence,  so  that 
the  subject  of  the  biography  is  delineated  in  his  own  words, 


A,D.  1792-1822.    PERCY  BYSSEE  SHELLEY.  267 

Moore  furnishing  little  more  than  the  arrangement  and  the  con- 
necting matter. 

445.  PERCY  BYSSHE  SHELLEY  (1792-1822)  was  of  an  ancient 
and  opulent  family,  the  eldest  son  of  Sir  Timothy  Shelley,  and 
\vas  born  at  Field  Place,  near  Horsham,  in  Sussex,  August  4, 
1792.  (283-285}  At  Eton  his  sensitive  mind  was  shocked  by 
the  sight  of  boyish  tyranny ;  and  he  went  to  Oxford  full  of  ab- 
horrence for  the  cruelty  and  bigotry  which  he  fancied  pervaded 
all  the  relations  of  civilized  life.  An  eager  and  desultory  stu- 
dent, he  rapidly  filled  his  mind  with  the  sceptical  arguments 
against  Christianity;  and  having  published  a  tract  avowing 
atheistic  principles,  he  was  expelled  from  the  University.  This 
scandal,  together  with  a  marriage  he  contracted  with  a  beautiful 
girl,  his  inferior  in  rank,  caused  him  to  be  renounced  by  his 
family.  After  a  few  years  he  separated  from  his  wife,  who  sub- 
sequently terminated  her  existence  in  a  melancholy  manner  by 
suicide;  and  he  contracted  during  his  wife's  lifetime  a  new  con- 
nection with  the  daughter  of  Godwin;  and  having  induced  his 
family  to  make  him  a  considerable  annual  allowance,  he  was 
from  thenceforth  relieved  from  pecuniary  difficulties.  The  deli- 
cate state  of  his  health  rendered  it  advisable  that  he  should 
leave  England  for  a  warmer  climate,  and  the  remainder  of  his 
life  was  passed  abroad,  with  only  one  short  interruption.  In 
Switzerland  he  became  acquainted  with  Byron,  and  the  ardor  of 
his  character  and  the  splendor  of  his  genius  undoubtedly  ex- 
erted a  powerful  influence  on  his  mighty  contemporary.  He 
afterwards  migrated  to  Italy,  where  he  kept  up  an  intimate  com- 
panionship with  Byron,  still  continuing  to  pour  forth  his  strange 
and  enchanting  poetry  in  indefatigable  profusion.  He  resided 
principally  at  Rome,  and  composed  there  many  of  his  finest 
productions.  His  death  was  early  and  tragic.  As  he  was  re- 
turning in  a  small  yacht  from  Leghorn,  in  company  with  a 
friend  and  a  single  boatman,  his  vessel  was  caught  in  a  squall, 
and  went  down  with  all  on  board  in  the  Gulf  of  Spezzia.  Thus 
perished  this  great  poet,  at  the  age  of  thirty. 

440.  Shelley  was  all  his  life,  both  as  a  poet  and  as  a  man,  a 
dreamer,  a  visionary:  his  mind  was  filled  with  glorious  but  un- 
real phantoms  of  the  possible  perfectibility  of  mankind.  The 
very  intensity  of  his  sympathy  with  his  kind  clouded  his  rea- 
son ;  and  he  fell  into  the  common  error  of  all  enthusiasts,  of 
supposing  that,  if  the  present  organization  of  society  were  swept 


268  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.        CHAP.  XXIV. 

away,  a  millennium  of  virtue  and  happiness  must  ensue.  As  a 
poet  he  was  undoubtedly  gifted  with  genius  of  a  very  high  order, 
an  immense,  though  somewhat  vaporous  richness  and  fertility 
of  imagination,  an  intense  fire  and  energy  in  the  reproduction 
of  what  he  conceived,  and  a  command  over  all  the  resources  of 
metrical  harmony  such  as  no  English  poet  has  surpassed.  His 
career  commences  with  £hieen  Mab,  written  by  the  poet  when 
but  eighteen  years  old,  a  wild  phantasmagoria  of  beautiful  de- 
scription and  fervent  declamation,  in  that  irregular  unrhymed 
versification  of  which  Southey's  Thalaba  is  an  example.  The 
defect  of  this  poem,  as  indeed  of  many  of  Shelley's  other  com- 
positions, is  a  vagueness  of  meaning  which  often  becomes  abso- 
lutely unintelligible. 

447.  Perhaps  the  finest,  as  it  is  the  completest  and  most  dis- 
tinct, of  Shelley's  longer  poems  is  Alastor,  or  the  Spirit  of  Sol- 
itude, in  which  he  depicts  the  sufferings  of  such  a  character  as 
his  own,  a  being  of  the  warmest  sympathies,  and  of  the  loftiest 
aspirations,  driven  into  solitude  and  despair  by  the  ingratitude 
of  his  kind,  who  are  incapable  of  understanding  and  sympathiz- 
ing with  his  aims.    The  Revolt  of  /$/«;»,  Hellas,  and  the  Witch 
of  Atlas,  are  works  which  belong,  more  or  less,  to  the  category 
of  Queen  Mab ;  violent  invectives  against  kingcraft,  priestcraft, 
religion,  and  marriage,  alternating  with  airy  and  exquisite  pic- 
tures of  scenes  and  beings  of  superhuman  and  unearthly  splen- 
dor.    The  defect  of  these  poems  is  the  extreme  obscurity  of  their 
general  drift.    Though  particular  objects  stand  out  with  the  viv- 
idness and  splendor  of  reality,  and  are  lighted  up  with  a  daz- 
zling glow  of  imagination,  the  effect  of  the  whole  is  singularly 
vague  and  uncertain. 

448.  Two  important  works  of  Shelley  are  dramatic  in  form  — 
the  Prometheus  Unbotind  and  the  Cenci.     The  former,  however, 
is  rather  a  lyric  in  dialogue  than  a  drama,  while  the  latter  is  a 
regular  tragedy.    The  Prometheus  is  one  of  the  wildest  and  most 
unintelligible  of  all  this  poet's  works,  though  it  contains  num- 
berless passages  of  the  highest  beauty  and  sublimity.     The  fun- 
damental idea  is  based  upon  the  gigantic  drama  of  JEschylus,  of 
which    it   is   intended  to  be  the  complement;    but  it  breathes 
throughout  that  strange  union  of  fierce  hostility  to  social  sys- 
tems and  intense  love  for  humanity  in  the  abstract  which  forms 
so  singular  an  anomaly  in  the  writings  of  Shelley.    Many  of  the 
descriptive  passages  are  sublime ;  and  noble  bursts  of  lyric  har- 


A.D.  1796-1821.  JOHN  KEATS.  269 

monj  alternate  with  the  wildest  personifications  and  the  fiercest 
invective.  The  Cenci  is  a  regular  tragedy  on  the  severe  and 
sculptural  plan  of  Alfieri.  It  is  founded  on  the  famous  crime  of 
Beatrice  di  Cenci,  driven  to  parricide  by  the  diabolical  wicked- 
ness of  her  father,  for  which  she  suffered  the  penalty  of  death  at 
Rome ;  but  in  spite  of  several  powerful  and  striking  scenes,  the 
piece  is  of  a  morbid  and  unpleasing  character,  though  the  lan- 
guage is  vigorous  and  masculine. 

449.  The   narrative  poem  of  Rosalind  and  Helen  is  an  elab- 
orate pleading  against  the  institution  of  marriage,  an  intense 
and  almost  amusing  hostility  to  which  was  one  of  Shelley's  pet 
crazes.     In  the  poem  of  Adonais  the  poet  has  given  us  a  beauti- 
ful and  touching  lament  on  the  early  death  of  Keats,  whose 
short  career  gave  such  a  noble  foretaste  of  poetical  genius  as 
would  have  made  him  one  of  the  greatest  writers  of  his  age. 
One  of  the  most  imaginative,  and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the 
obscurest,  of  Shelley's  poems  is  the  Sensitive  Plant,  which  com- 
bines the  qualities  of  mystery  and  fancifulness  to  the  highest 
degree,  perpetually  stimulating  the  reader  with  ar  desire  to  pene- 
trate the  meaning  symbolized  in  the  luxuriant  description  of  the 
garden   and   the  Plant,  and  filling  him  with  the  richest  imagery 
and  description.     Many  of  his  detached  lyrics  are  of  inexpressi- 
ble beauty,  as  the  Ode  to  a  Skylark,  (283}  which  breathes  the 
very  rapture  of  the  bird's  soaring  song,  and  the  wild  but  pictu- 
resque imagery  of  the  Cloud,  besides  a  number  of  minor  but 
not  less  beautiful  productions. 

450.  JOHN  KEATS  (1796-1821)  was  born  in  Moorfields,  (286- 
280}  London,  and  was  apprenticed  to  a  surgeon  in  his  fifteenth 
year.     During  his  apprenticeship  he  devoted  most  of  his  time 
to  poetry,  and  in  1817  he  published  a  volume  of  juvenile  poems. 
This  was  followed  in  1818  by  his  long  poem  Endymion,  (289} 
which  was'severely  censured  by  the  Quarterly  Rev ierv,  an  attack 
which  has  been  somewhat  erroneously  described  as  the  cause  of 
his  death.     But  he  had  a  constitutional  tendency  to  consump- 
tion, which  would  most  likely  have  developed  itself  under  any 
circumstances.    He  went  for  the  recovery  of  his  health  to  Rome, 
where  he  died  on  the  24th  of  February,  1821.     In  the  previous 
year  he  had  published  another  volume  of  poems,  Lamia,  Isa- 
bella, &c.,  in  which  was  included  the  fragment  of  his  remarkable 
poem  entitled  Hyperion.  (287} 

451.  It  was  the  misfortune  of  Keats  to  be  either  extravagantly 


270  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.      CHAP.  XXIV. 

praised  or  unmercifully  condemned.  That  which  is  most  re- 
markable in  his  works  is  the  wonderful  profusion  of  figurative 
language,  often  exquisitely  beautiful  and  luxuriant,  but  some- 
times purely  fantastical  and  far-fetched.  This  peculiarity  Keats 
carries  to  extravagance  —  one  word,  one  image,  one  rhyme  sug- 
gests another,  till  we  quite  lose  sight  of  the  original  idea,  which 
is  smothered  in  its  OAvn  luxuriance.  Keats  deserves  high  praise 
for  one  very  original  merit :  he  has  treated  the  classical  my- 
thology in  a  way  absolutely  new,  representing  the  Pagan  deities 
not  as  mere  abstractions  of  art,  nor  as  mere  creatures  of  popular 
belief,  but  giving  them  passions  and  affections  like  our  own, 
though  highly  purified  and  idealized.  In  Hyperion,  in  the  Ode 
to  Pan  (which  appears  in  "Endymion"),  in  the  verses  on  a 
Grecian  Urn,  (288}  we  find  a  strain  of  beautiful  classic  im- 
agery, combined  with  a  perception  of  natural  loveliness  inex- 
pressibly luxuriant,  rich,  and  delicate.  Such  of  Keats's  poems  as 
are  founded  on  more  modern  subjects  —  The  Eve  of  St.  Agnes 
for  example,  or  The  Pot  of  Basil,  a  beautiful  anecdote  versified 
from  Boccacio — are,  to  our  taste,  inferior  to  those  of  his  produc- 
tions in  which  the  scenery  and  personages  are  mythological. 
Keats  was  a  true  poet.  If  we  consider  his  extreme  youth  and 
delicate  health,  his  solitary  and  interesting  self-instruction,  the 
severity  of  the  attacks  made  upon  him  by  hostile  and  powerful 
critics,  and,  above  all,  the  original  richness  and  picturesqueness 
of  his  conceptions  and  imagery,  even  when  they  run  to  waste, 
he  appears  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  young  poets  —  re- 
sembling the  Milton  of  Lycidas,  or  the  Spenser  of  the  Tears  of 
the  Muses. 

452.  Though  the  ottava  rima  was  employed  in  early  times  by 
more*  than  one  poet  of  distinction,  the  writer  whose  compositions 
immediately  suggested  it  to  Lord  Byron  was  JOHN  -HOOKHAM 
FRERE  (1769-1846),  assistant  of  Canning  in  the  management  of 
the  famous  Anti-Jacobin,  and  honorably  known  as  a  translator 
of  Aristophanes.  It  was  in  the  above  metre  that  he  wrote  his 
Prospectus  and  Specimen  of  an  intended  National  Work  by  Wil- 
liam and  Robert  Whistlecraft,  &c.,  a  burlesque  of  great  celeb- 
rity when  it  first  appeared  in  1817,  and  for  some  time  after- 
wards. A  writer  of  much  the  same  calibre  as  Frere,  though 
perhaps  superior  in  some  respects,  is  WINTHROP  MACK  WORTH 
PRAED  (1802-1839),  son  of  Mr.  Serjeant  Praed,  and  a  politician  of 
great  promise,  whose  premature  death  was  a  loss  alike  to  the 


A.  D.  1777-1814.      THOMAS   CAMPBELL.  271 

nation  and  to  literature.  As  a  writer  of  vers  de  societe,  a  kind  of 
composition  in  which  the  English  language  is  unusually  rich, 
he  has  had  few  equals,  and  perhaps  no  superior.  His  Belle  of 
the  Ball-Room  and  Letter  of  Advice  are  not  excelled  even  by 
Moore,  whose  name  is  perhaps  the  highest  in  this  particular  de- 
partment. Indeed  for  sparkle,  for  airy  elegance,  for  playful,  if 
not  over  deep,  humor,  and  for  flowing  grace,  he  is  not  likely  ever 
to  be  excelled. 

458.  Our  limited  space  will  allow  no  more  than  a  mention  of 
the  Pleasures  of  Memory  of  SAMUEL  ROGERS  (393}  (1763-1855^, 
and  the  Rejected  Addresses  of  JAMES  and  HORACE  SMITH.  (231) 

454.  THOMAS   CAMPBELL  (1777-1844),  (29O-293)  who  was 
born  on  the  27th  of  July,  1777,  at  Glasgow,  was  educated  at  the 
University  in  that  city,  where   he  distinguished  himself  by  his 
translations  from  the  Greek  poets.     In   1799,  when  he  was  only 
in  his  twentv-second  year,  he  published  his  Pleasures  of  Hope, 
(29O)  which  was  received  with  a  burst  of  enthusiasm  as  hearty 
as  afterwards   welcomed    the    Lay   of  the   Last   Minstrel    and 
Childe   Harold.     Shortly  afterwards  he  travelled  abroad,  where 
the  warlike  scenes  he  witnessed,  and  the  battle-fields  he  visited, 
suggested    some    noble    lyrics.     To    the    seventh   edition  of  the 
Pleasures  of  Hofc,  published  in   iSoe,  were  added   the  magnifi- 
cent verses  on  the  battle  of  Hohcnlinden,  (293)   Te  Mariners 
of  England,  (292)  the  most  popular  of  his  songs,  and  LochieVs 
Warning:     In  the  following  year  he  settled  in  London,  married, 
and  commenced  in  earnest  the  pursuit   of  literature  as  a  profes- 
sion.    His  works  were  written  chiefly  for  the  booksellers,  and 
with  the  exception  of  his  Gertrude  of  Wyoming,  which  appeared 
in    1809,  do    not   require    any   notice  in  a  history  of  literature. 
In   1843  he  retired  to  Boulogne,  where  he  died  in  the  following 
year.     His  body  was  brought  over  to  England  and  interred  in 
Westminster  Abbey. 

455.  In  the   circle  of  poets  with  Byron,  Shelley,   and  Keats, 
outliving  by  many  years  the  latest  of  these,  must  be  mentioned 
the  names  of  Leigh  Hunt  and  Walter  Savage  Landor. 

45G.  JAMES  HENRY  LEIGH  HUNT  (1784-1859)  was  born  at 
Southgate,  Middlesex,  and  received  his  education  at  Christ's 
Hospital,  which  he  left  "  in  the  same  rank,  at  the  same  age,  and 
'for  the  same  reasons,  as  Lamb."  In  1805  he  joined  his  brother 
in  editing  a  newspaper  called  the  News,  and  shortly  afterwards 
'established  the  Examiner,  which  still  exists.  A  conviction  for 


272  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.      CHAP.  XXIV. 

libel  on  the  Prince  Regent  detained  him  in  prison  for  two  years, 
the  happiest  portion  of  his  life;  he  was  free  from  the  worry 
and  care  which  never  afterwards  forsook  him.  Soon  after  he 
left  prison  he  published  the  Story  of  Rimini,  an  Italian  tale  in 
verse  (1816),  which  contains  some  exquisite  poetry,  both  as  to 
conception  and  execution.  About  1818  he  started  the  Indicator, 
a  weekly  paper,  in  imitation  of  the  Spectator;  and  in  1822  he 
went  to  Italy,  to  assist  Lord  Byron  and  Shelley  in  their  pro- 
jected paper  called  the  Liberal.  Shelley  died  soon  after  Hunt's 
arrival  in  Italy;  and  though  Hunt  was  kindly  received  by  Byron, 
and  lived  for  a  time  in  his  house,  there  was  no  congeniality  be- 
tween them.  Returning  to  England  he  continued  to  write  for 
periodicals,  and  published  various  poems  from  time  to  time,  of 
which  one  of  the  most  celebrated  was  Captain  Sword  and  Cap- 
tain Pen.  Leight  Hunt's  poetry  is  graceful,  sprightly,  and  full 
of  fancy.  Though  not  possessing  much  soul  and  emotion,  it 
has  true  life  and  genius ;  while  here  and  there  his  verse  is  lit  up 
with  wit,  or  glows  with  tenderness  and  grace.  His  prose  writ- 
ings consist  of  essays,  collected  under  the  titles  of  The  Indica- 
tor and  The  Companion  ;  Sir  Ralph  Esher,  a  novel ;  The  Old 
Court  Suburb ;  his  lives  of  Wyckerley,  Congreve,  Vanbrugh, 
and  Farquhar,  prefixed  to  his  edition  of  their  dramatic  writings, 
and  many  others. 

457.  The  father  of  WALTER  SAVAGE  LANDOR  (1775-1864^  was 
a  gentleman  of  good  family  and  wealthy  circumstances  residing 
in  Warwickshire.  The  son  entered  Rugby  at  an  early  age,  and 
thence  proceeded  to  Trinity  College,  Oxford;  but  he  left  the 
University  without  a  degree.  In  1795  his  first  work —  a  volume 
of  poems  —  appeared,  followed  early  in  the  present  century  by  a 
translation  into  Latin  of  Gebir,  one  of  his  own  English  poems. 
Landor  had  no  small  facility  in  classical  composition,  and  he 
appeared  to  have  the  power  of  transporting  himself  into  the 
times  and  sentiments  of  Greece  and  Rome.  This  is  still  more 
clearly  seen  in  the  Heroic  Idylls  (1820)  in  Latin  verse  :  and  the 
reproduction  of  Greek  thought  in  The  Hellenics  is  one  o'f  the 
most  successful  attempts  of  its  kind.  Shortly  after  the  death  of 
his  father,  the  poet  took  up  his  abode  on  the  Continent,  where 
he  resided  during  the  rest  of  his  life,  with  occasional  visits  to 
his  native  country.  The  republican  spirit  which  led  him  to  take 
part  as  a  volunteer  in  the  Spanish  rising  of  1808  continued  to 
burn  fiercely  to  the  last.  He  even  went  so  far  as  to  defend  tyran- 


A.  D.  1799-1845.         THOMAS  HOOD.  273 

nicide,  and  boldly  offered  a  pension  to  the  widow  of  any  one  who 
would  murder  a  despot.  Between  1820  and  1830  he  was  engaged 
upon  his  greatest  work,  Imaginary  Conversations  of  Literary 
Mtn  and  Statesmen.  This  was  followed  in  1831  by  Poems.  Let- 
ters by  a  Conservative,  Satire  on  Satirists  (1836),  Pentameron 
and  Pentalogue  (1837),  and  a  long  series  in  prose  and  poetry, 
of  which  the  chief  are  the  Hellenics  enlarged  and  completed, 
Dry  Sticks  Fagoted,  and  The  Last  Fruit  off  an  Old  Tree.  He 
died  on  the  iyth  September,  1864,  at  Florence,  an  exile  from  his 
country,  misunderstood  from  the  very  individuality  of  his  genius 
by  the  majority  of  his  countrymen,  but  highly  appreciated  by 
those  who  could  rightly  estimate  the  works  he  has  left  behind" 
him. 

458.  THOMAS  HOOD  (1799-1845)  has   unfortunately  been  re- 
garded only  as  a  humorist;   and  as  the  English  reader  would 
accept  from  him  nothing  but  wit  and  humor,  the  most  valuable 
of  his  writings  are  in  danger  of  being  forgotten.  (322,  323} 
He  was  associated  with  the  brilliant  circle  who  then  contributed 
to  the  London  Magazine  ;  among  whom  were  Lamb,  Hazlitt, 
the  Smiths,  De  Quincey,  and  Reynolds.     The  latter  of  these 
was  united  with  Hood  in  the  publication  of  the  Odes  and  Ad- 
dresses, which  appeared  anonymously,  and  were  ascribed  by  Cole- 
ridge to  Lamb.     These  were  followed  by  Whims  and  Oddities. 
Hood  became  at  once  a  popular  writer;  but  in  the  midst  of  his 
success  a  firm  failed  which  involved  him  in  its  losses.    The  poet, 
disdaining  to  seek  the  aid  of  bankruptcy,  emulated  the  example 
of  Scott,  and  determined  by  the  economy  of  a  life  in  Germany 
to  pay  off  the  debt  which  he  had  thus  involuntarily  contracted. 
In  1835  the   family  took  up   their  residence   in  Coblenz ;  from 
thence  removed  to  Ostend  (1837)  ;  and  returned  to  London  in 

1840.  He  subsequently  became  editor  of  the  New  Monthly  in 

1841,  and  held  it  until  1843,  when  the  first  number  of  his  own 
Magazine  was  issued.     A  pension  was  obtained  for  him,  with 
reversion  to  his  wife  and  daughter  in  1844;   an<^  ne  died  upon 
the  3d  of  May  in  the  following  year. 

459.  Hood  stands  very  high  among  the  poets  of  the  second 
order.     He  was  not  a  creative  genius.     He  has  given  little  indi- 
cation  of  the  highest  imaginative   faculty;   but  his  fancy  was 
most  delicate,  and  full  of  graceful  play.     His  most  distinctive 
mark  was  the  thorough  humanity  of  his  thoughts  and  expres- 
sions.    His  poems  are  amongst  the  most  valuable  contributions 

18 


274  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.       CHAP.  XXIV. 

to  English  literature  of  sympathy  with,  and  insight  into,  human 
life  and  character.  He  possessed  in  a  most  remarkable  degree 
the  power  of  perceiving  the  ridiculous  and  the  odd.  Words 
seemed  to  break  up  into  the  most  queer  and  droll  syllables.  His 
wit  was  caustic,  and  yet  it  bore  with  itself  its  remedy.  It  was 
never  coarse.  An  impurity  even  in  suggestion  cannot  be  found 
in  Hood's  pages.  With  the  humor  was  associated  a  most  tender 
pathos.  The  Deathbed  (323)  is  one  of  the  most  affecting  little 
poems  in  our  language,  and  is  equalled  only  by  another  of  his 
ballads  entitled  Love's  Eclipse.  Amongst  his  larger  works,  the 
Plea  of  the  Midsummer  Fairies,  and  Hero  and  Leander,  are  the 
most  sustained  and  elaborate.  The  descriptive  pieces  in  both 
are  full  of  the  most  careful  observation  of  nature,  and  most  mu- 
sical expression  of  her  beauties.  The  best  known  of  his  poems 
are  The  Bridge  of  Sighs,  (322}  Eugene  Aram,  and  the  Song1 
of  the  Shirt. 

460.  However  inferior  the  present  age  may  be  in  some  re- 
spects to  many  of  its  predecessors,  in  one  at  least  it  is  vastly 
, superior  to  all  others  —  the  excellence  of  its  female  intellects. 
Not  to  speak  of  CAROLINE  BOWLES  (the  second  Mrs.  Southey), 
Mrs.  HEMANS,  (321}  LETITIA  ELIZABETH  LANDON  (better 
known  perhaps  by  her  signature  of  L.  E.  L.),  \ve  may  say 
of  ELIZABETH  BARRETT  BROWNING  (1809-1861)  that  she  has 
gained  for  herself  a  place  among  poets  to  which  not  one  of  her 
own  sex  has  ever  attained.  (324:}  Her  first  acknowledged  work 
was  a  translation  of  the  Prometheus  Bound,  which  was  published 
in  1833.  Next  appeared  a  collection  of  poems  in  1844,  which  es- 
tablished her  reputation  as  the  strongest,  most  high-toned  and 
most  melodious  of  female  poets.  Her  sympathy  with  Italian 
aspirations,  which  enters  so  largely  into  the  character  of  her 
best  works,  dates  from  her  marriage  with  Robert  Browning, 
when  her  failing  health  compelled  her  to  reside  in  Italy.  To 
this  circumstance  we  owe  her  tC  as  a  Guidi  Windows,  and  her 
Poems  before  Congress,  which  appeared  respectively  in  1851  and 
1860.  Incomparably  her  greatest  work,  however,  and  in  the 
estimation  of  some  the  noblest  poem  of  the  present  century,  is 
Aurora  Leigh,  published  in  1856.  This  she  herself  pronounces 
"  the  most  mature  of  her  works,  and  the  one  into  which  her 
highest  convictions  upon  Life  and  Art  have  entered."  In  the 
same  year  she  left  England  for  the  last  time,  dying  at  Florence, 
June  29,  1861. 


« 


A.  D.  1770-1850.  WORDSWORTH.  275 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

THE     LAKE    SCHOOL.  —  WORDSWORTH,    COLERIDGE,    AND 
SOUTHEY. 

461.  \VILLIAM\VORDSWORTH  (1770-1850),  the  founder  of  the 
so-called  Lake  School  of  poetry,  was  born  at  Cockermouth,  in 
Cumberland,  April  7,  1770.  (204-300^)  In  his  ninth  year  he 
was  sent  to  a  school  at  tfawkshead,  in  the  most  picturesque  dis- 
trict of  Lancashire,  where  his  relish  for  the  beauties  of  creation, 
to  which  he  mainly  owes  his  place  among  poets,  was  early  man- 
ifested and  rapidly  developed.  After  taking  his  degree  at  Cam- 
bridge in  1791,  he  went  over  to  France,  and  eagerly  embraced 
the  ideas  of  the  wildest  champions  of  liberty  in  that  country. 
His  political  sentiments,  however,  became  gradually  modified, 
till  in  later  life  they  settled  down  into  steady  Conservatism  in 
Church  and  State.  In  1793  he  produced  to  the  world  two  little 
poems,  An  Evening  Walk,  and  Descriptive  Sketches,  of  which 
the  metre  and  language  are  in  the  school  of  Pope ;  but  they  are 
the  work  of  a  promising  scholar,  and  not  of  a  master.  In  the 
following  year  he  completed  the  Story  of  Salisbury  Plain,  or, 
Ghilt  and  Sorrow,  which  did  not  appear  entire  till  1842,  but  of 
which  he  published  an  extract  in  1798,  under  the  title  of  The 
Female  Vagrant.  In  regard  to  time  it  is  separated  from  the 
Descriptive  Sketches  by  a  span,  but  in  respect  of  merit  they  are 
parted  by  a  gulf.  He  had  ceased  to  write  in  the  train  of  Pope; 
and  composed  in  the  stanza  of  his  later  favorite  Spenser.  His 
second  experiment  was  the  tragedy  of  The  Borderers,  which 
was  considered,  when  it  appeared,  an  unqualified  failure.  In 
June,  1797,  Coleridge  formed  a  close  friendship  with  Wordsworth 
and  his  sister;  and  to  furnish  funds  for  a  journey  to  Germany 
the  two  friends  published  their  Lyrical  Ballads,  the  first  piece 
in  which  was  Coleridge's  Anc\ent  Mariner,  but  several  of  the 
remaining  poems  were  by  Wordsworth. 

•462.  On  their  return  to  England  in  1798  Wordsworth  and  his 
sister  settled  in  the  lake  district,  from  which  circumstance  he 


276  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.        CHAP.  XXV. 

and  his  friends,  Coleridge,  Southej,  De  Quincey,  and  Wilson, 
received  the  name  of  the  Lake  School.  He  now  set  himself  to 
work,  both  by  precept  and  practice,  to  inculcate  his  peculiar 
views  of  poetry,  which  encountered  for  a  long  time  the  fieixe 
hostility  of  the  critics.  In  1799  he  commenced  The  Prelude, 
which  was  not  published  in  full  till  after  his  death.  In  1800  he 
published  an  enlarged  edition  of  the  Ballads,  in  which  thirty- 
seven  pieces  were  added  to  the  original  collection. 

4G3.  The  year  1802  was  arueventful  one  to  the  poet.  A  consid- 
erable accession  of  fortune,  which  had  been  due  to  his  father  at: 
the  time  of  his  death,  enabled  him  to  marry  a  lady  to  whom  he 
had  been  long  attached,  Mary  Hutchinson,  his  sister's  friend. 
In  1807  he  gave  to  the  world  two  new  volumes  of  Poems,  which 
contained  the  Song"  at  the  Feast  of  Brougham  Castle,  and  many 
more  of  his  choicest  pieces.  Here  appeared  his  first  sonnets, 
and  several  of  them  are  still  ranked  among  his  happiest  efforts 
in  that  department.  Wordsworth's  next  publication  was  in 
prose.  His  indignation  rose  at  the  grasping  tyranny  of  Napo- 
leon ;  and  in  1809  he  put  forth  a  pamphlet  against  the  Conven- 
tion of  Cintra.  The  sentiments  were  spirit-stirring,  but  the 
manner  of  conveying  them  was  the  reverse,  and  his  protest 
passed  unheeded.  His  great  work,  The  Excursion,  appeared  in 
1814.  This  is  a  fragment  of  a  projected  great  moral  epic,  dis- 
cussing and  solving  the  mightiest  questions  concerning  God, 
nature,  and  man,  our  moral  constitution,  our  duties,  and  our 
hopes.  Its  dramatic  interest  is  exceedingly  small ;  its  structure 
is  very  inartificial ;  and  the  characters  represented  in  it  are  de- 
void of  life  and  probability.  On  the  other  hand,  so  sublime  are 
the  subjects  on  which  they  reason,  so  lofty  is  their  tone,  and  so 
deep  a  glow  of  humanity  is  perceptible  throughout,  that  no 
honest  reader  can  study  this  grand  composition  without  ever- 
increasing  reverence  and  delight. 

464.  In  1815  appeared  The  White  Doe  of  Rylstone,  the  only 
narrative  poem  of  any  length  which  Wordsworth  ever  wrote. 
The  incidents  turn  chiefly  on  the  complete  ruin  of  a  north- 
country  family  in  the  "Rising  of  the  North  "  in  1569.  Peter  Bell 
was  published  in  1819,  and  was  received  with  a  shout  of  ridicule. 
The  poet  stated  in  the  dedication  that  the  work  had  been  com- 
pleted twenty  years,  and  that  he  had  continued  correcting  it  in 
the  interval  to  render  it  worthy  of  a  permanent  place  in  our 
national  literature.  The  *work  is  meant  to  be  serious,  and  is 


A.  D.  1770-1850.  WORDSWORTH.  277 

certainly  not  facetious,  but  there  is  so  much  farcical  absurdity 
of  detail  and  language. that  the  mind  is  revolted.  This  poem 
was  followed  by  The  Wagoner,  which  was  not  more  successful. 
Between  1830  and  1840  the  flood  which  floated  him  into  favor 
rose  to  its  height.  Scott  and  Byron  had  in  succession  entranced 
the  world.  They  had  now  withdrawn,  and  no  third  king  arose 
to  demand  homage.  It  was  in  the  lull  which  ensued  that  the  less 
thrilling  notes  of  the  Lake  bard  obtained  a  hearing.  It  was  dur- 
ing this  time  that  he  published  his  Ecclesiastical  Sonnets  and 
Tarro-w  Revisited;  and  in  1842  he  brought  forth  a  complete  col- 
lection of  his  poems.  His  fame  was  now  firmly  established  On 
the  death  of  Souchey  in  1843  he  was  made  Poet  Laureate.  He  died 
on  April  23,  1850,  when  he  had  just  completed  his  eightieth  year. 
4G5.  The  poetry  of  Wordsworth  has  passed  through  two 
phases  of  criticism,  in  the  first  of  which  his  defects  were  chiefly 
noted,  and  in  the  second  his  merits.  Already  we  have  arrived 
at  the  third  era,  when  the  majority  of  readers  are  just  to  both. 
Perhaps  the  fairest  estimate  that  has  yet  appeared  of  Words- 
worth's poetry  is  given  by  an  acute  critic  in  the  Quarterly  Re- 
view :  —  %;  It  is  constantly  asserted  that  he  effected  a  reform  in 
the  language  of  poetry,  that  he  found  the  public  bigoted  to  a 
vicious  and  flowery  diction,  which  seemed  to  mean  a  great  deal 
and  really  meant  nothing,  and  that  he  led  them  back  to  sense 
and  simplicity.  The  claim  appears  to  us  to  be  a  fanciful  as- 
sumption, refuted  by  the  facts  of  literary  history.  Feebler 
poetasters  were  no  doubt  read  when  Wordsworth  began  to  write 
than  would  now  command  an  audience,  however  small ;  but 
they  had  no  real  hold  upon  the  public,  and  Cowper  was  the  only 
popular  bard  of  the  day.  His  masculine  and  unadorned  Eng- 
lish was  relished  in  every  cultivated  circle  in  the  land,  and 
Wordsworth  was  the  child  and  not  the  father  of  a  reaction, 
which,  after  all,  has  been  greatly  exaggerated.  Goldsmith  was 
the  most  celebrated  of  Cowper's  immediate  predecessors,  and  it 
will  not  be  pretended  that  The  Deserted  Village  and  The  Trav- 
eller are  among  the  specimens  of  inane  phraseology.  Burns 
had  died  before  Wordsworth  had  attracted  notice.  The  wonder- 
ful Peasant's  performances  were  admired  by  none  more  than  by 
Wordsworth  himself:  were  they  not  already  far  more  popular 
than  the  Lake-poet's  have  ever  been  —  or  ever  will  be  ?  and  were 
they,  in  any  respect  or  degree,  tinged  with  the  absurdities  of  the 
Hayley  school?  .  .  .  Whatever  influence  Wordsworth  may 


278  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.       CHAP.  XXV. 

have  exercised  on  poetic  style,  be  it  great  or  small,  was  by  de- 
viating in  practice  from  the  principles  of  composition  for  which 
he  contended.  Both  his  theory,  and  the  poems  which  illustrate 
it,  continue  to  this  hour  to  be  all  but  universally  condemned. 
He  resolved  to  write  as  the  lower  orders  talked ;  and  though 
where  the  poor  are  the  speakers  it  would  be  in  accordance  with 
strict  dramatic  propriety,  the  system  would  not  be  tolerated  in 
serious  poetry.  Wordsworth's  rule  did  not  stop  at  the  wording 
of  dialogues.  He  maintained  that  the  colloquial  language  of 
rustics  was  the  most  philosophical  and  enduring  which  the  dic- 
tionary affords,  and  the  fittest  for  verse  of  every  description. 
.  .  .  When  his  finest  verse  is  brought  to  the  test  of  his  prin- 
ciple, they  agree  no  better  than  light  and  darkness.  Mere 
is  his  way  of  describing  the  effects  of  the  pealing  organ  in 
King's  College  Chapel,  with  its  '  self-poised  roof,  scooped  into 
ten  thousand  cells  : '  — 

'  But  from  the  arms  of  silence  — list!    O  list!  — 
The  music  bursteth  into  second  life; 
The  notes  luxuriate,  every  stone  is  kissed 
With  si ni nd,  or  ghost  of  sound,  in  mazy  strife! ' 

4GG.  "This  is  to  write  like  a  splendid  poet,  but  it  is  not  to 
write  as  rustics  talk.  A  second  canon  laid  down  by  Wordsworth 
was,  that  poetic  diction  is,  or  ought  to  be,  in  all  respects  the 
same  with  the  language  of  prose ;  and  as  prose  has  a  wide 
range,  and  numbers  among  its  triumphs  such  luxuriant  elo- 
quence as  that  of  Jeremy  Taylor,  the  principle,  if  just,  would  be 
no  less  available  for  the  advocates  of  ornamental  verse  than  for 
the  defence  of  the  homely  style  of  the  Lyrical  Ballads.  But  the 
proposition  is  certainly  too  broadly  stated ;  and,  though  the 
argument  holds  good  for  the  adversary,  because  the  phraseology 
which  is  not  too  rich  for  prose  can  never  be  considered  too 
tawdry  for  poetry,  yet  it  will  not  warrant  the  conclusions  of 
Wordsworth,  that  poetry  should  never  rise  above  prose,  or  dis- 
dain to  descend  to  its  lowest  level." 

4G7.  SAMUEL  TAYLOR  COLERIDGE  (1772-1834)  was  born  at 
Ottery-St.-Mary,  in 'Devonshire,  and  was  educated  at  Christ's 
Hospital;  from  whence  he  proceeded  to  Jesus  -College,  Cam- 
bridge. (3OJL-3O7)  Leaving  the  University  in  his  second  year 
he  enlisted  in  the  I5th  Dragoons,  under  the  assumed  name  of 
Comberbacke.  One  of  the  officers,  learning  his  real  history, 
communicated  with  his  friends,  by  whom  his  discharge  was  at 


A.  D.  1772-1834.       8.    T.   COLERIDGE.  279 

once  effected.  After  forming  a  wild  scheme,  in  conjunction 
with  Southey,  for  founding  a  model  republic  in  North  America, 
to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  "Pantisocracy,"  and  abandon- 
ing it  for  want  of  funds,  he  then  turned  his  attention  to  litera- 
ture. He  had  previously  written  the  first  act  of  the  Fall  of 
Robespierre,  of  which  Southey  composed  the  second  and  third 
acts  (published  in  1794).  In  1795  he  married  Miss  Sarah  Fricker 
of  Bristol,  a  sister  of  Southey's  wife.  During  the  first  three 
years  after  his  marriage  he  lived  in  Wordsworth's  neighborhood, 
and  his  share  in  the  celebrated  Lyrical  Ballads,  published  in 
1798,  has  been  already  mentioned.  At  this  period  also  his 
tragedy,  Remorse,  was  written.  In  1798  Coleridge  visited  Ger- 
many, where  he  studied  the  language  and  literature.  After  his 
return  he  took  up  his  abode  in  the  Lake  District,  near  Words- 
worth and  Southey.  He  subsequently  spent  some  time  in  Malta, 
where  he  was  secretary  to  Sir  Alexander  Ball  in  1804  and  1805. 
In  1810  he  quitted  the  Lakes,  leaving  his  wife  and  children 
wholly  dependent  upon  Southey,  —  a  striking  illustration  of  his 
well-known  indifference  to  personal  and  pecuniary  obligations. 
He  then  took  up  his  residence  in  London,  finding  a  home  in  the 
house  of  Mr.  Gillman  at  Highgate,  where  he  died,  July  25,  1834. 
4G8.  Coleridge  began  life  as  a  Unitarian  and  republican ;  his 
intellectual  powers  were  chiefly  formed  in  the  transcendental 
schools  of  Germany;  but  he  ultimately  became  from  conviction 
a  most  sincere  adherent  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Anglican  church, 
and  an  enthusiastic  defender  of  our  monarchical  constitution. 
Though  the  lyrics  to  which  we  have  alluded  (the  finest  of  which 
are  the  odes  On  the  Departing  Tear,  and  that  supposed  to  be 
written  At  sunrise  in  the  Valley  of  Chamouni}  (3O2)  are  some- 
what injured  by  their  air  of  effort,  they  are  indubitably  works  of 
singular  richness  and  exquisitely  melodized  language.  In  his 
translation  of  Schiller's  Wallenstein  Coleridge  was  most  suc- 
cessful. With  almost  all  readers  it  will  for  ever  have  the  charm 
of  an  original  work.  Indeed,  many  beautiful  parts  of  the  trans- 
lation are  exclusively  the  property  of  the  English  poet,  who  used 
a  manuscript  copy  of  the  German  text  before  its  publication  by 
the  author.  That  Coleridge  had  no  power  of  true  dramatic 
creation  is  strongly  proved  by  his  tragedy  of  Remorse,  in  which 
he  has  failed  to  produce  a  drama  which  either  excites  curiosity  or 
moves  any  strong  degree  of  pity.  He  was,  however,  a  consum- 
mate critic  of  the  dramatic  productions  of  others.  Till  he  wrote, 


t>80  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.        CHAP.  XXV. 

deep  and  universal  as  had  been  the  admiring  love  of  the  English 
for  Shakspeare,  there  still  remained,  in  their  judgment,  some- 
thing of  that  de  /taut  en  bas  tone  which  characterizes  all  the 
criticisms  anterior  to  Coleridge's  Lectures  on  Shakspeare.  Cole- 
ridge first  showed  that  the  creator  of  Hamlet  and  Othello  was 
not  only  the  greatest  genius,  but  also  the  most  consummate 
artist,  that  ever  existed.  He  was  the  first  to  make  some  ap- 
proach to  the  discovery  of  those  laws  which,  expressly  or  in- 
tuitively, governed  the  evolutions  of  the  Shakspearian  drama 

—  the  first  to  give  us  some  faint  idea  of  the  dimensions,  the 
length,  and  breadth,  and  depth,  of  that  huge  sea  of  truth  and 
beauty. 

4G9.  The  most  popular  of  Coleridge's  poems,  as  The  Ancient 
Mariner,  (3O4)  Christabel,  and  the  fragment  called  Kubla 
Khan,  (3O3)  are  of  a  mystic,  unreal  character :  indeed,  Cole- 
ridge asserted  that  the  last  was  actually  composed  in  a  dream 

—  an  affirmation  which  may  well  be  believed,  for  it  is  a  thousand 
times  more  unintelligible  than  the  general  run  of  dreams.     Like 
everything   that  Coleridge  ever  wrote,    the  versification  is  ex- 
quisite.    His  language  puts  on  every  form,  it  expresses  every 
sound;  he  almost  writes  to  the  eye  and  to  the  ear.     In  point  of 
completeness,  exquisite  harmony  of  feeling,  and  unsurpassable 
grace  of  imagery  and  language,  Coleridge  has  left  nothing  su- 
perior to  the  charming  little  poem  entitled  Love,  or  Genevicve. 

470.  Coleridge  takes  rank  also  as  a  psychologist,  moralist,  and 
general  philosopher.  The  Friend,  the  Lay  Sermons,  the  Aids 
to  Reflection,  and  the  Church  and  State,  are  works  which  have 
exercised  a  great  influence  upon  the  intellectual  character  of  his 
generation.  But  his  chief  reputation  through  life  was  founded 
less  upon  his  writings  than  upon  his  conversation,  or  rather 
what  may  be  called  his  conversational  oratory,  which  must  have 
resembled  those  disquisitions  of  the  Greek  philosophers  of  which 
the  dialogues  of  Plato  give  some  idea.  It  is  in  his  innumerable 
fragments,  in  his  rich  but  desultory  remains  (published  posthu- 
mously under  the  title  of  Literary  Remains},  in  casual  remarks 
scribbled  like  Sibylline  leaves,  often  on  the  margin  of  borrowed 
books,  and  in  imperfectly-reported  conversations,  that  we  must 
look  for  proofs  of  Coleridge's  immense  but  incompletely  recorded 
powers.  From  a  careful  study  of  these  we  shall  conceive  a  high 
admiration  of  his  genius,  and  a  deep  regret  at  the  fragmentary 
and  desultory  manifestations  of  his  powers. 


A.  ft.  1774-1843.       EGBERT  SOUTHE F.  281 

471.  ROBERT  SC&THEY  (1774-1843)  was  born  at  Bristol,  where 
his  father  carried  on  the  business  of  a  draper.  (3OS-31J.)     He 
was  sent  to  Westminster  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  but  he  had  had 
no  proper  classical  training  previously,  and  the  defect  was  never 
repaired.     After  spending  four  years  at  Westminster  he  was  ex- 
pelled for  writing  an  article  against  flogging  in  public  schools, 
which  appeared  in  the  Flagellant,  a  periodical  commenced  by 
Southey  and  his  friend  and  schoolfellow,   Grosvenor  Bedford. 
The  following  year  he  went  to  Oxford,  and  was  entered  at  Bal- 
liol.     His  religious  opinions  preventing  him  from  entering  the 
Church,  he  lingered  at  Oxford,  until  Coleridge  appeared  with 
his  scheme  of  "  Pantisocracy,"  already  related.     Quitting  Ox- 
ford, Southey  attempted  to  raise  by  authorship  funds  for  the 
American  scheme,  and  in  1794  published  at  Bath,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Robert  Lovell,  a  small  volume  of  poems,  which  brought 
neither  fame  nor  profit.     His  chief  reliance,  however,  was  on 
his  epic  poem  Joan  of  Arc,  composed  in  1793,  for  which  Joseph 
Cottle  of  Bristol,   the   patron  of   Coleridge,   offered    him   lifty 
guineas.     In  November,  1795,  Southey  accompanied  his  uncle 
to  Lisbon,  having  on  the  morning  of  his   departure   secretly 
united  himself  to  Miss  Fricker,  a  young  lady  to  whom  he  had 
for  some  time  been  engaged.      He  returned  six  months  after- 
wards, a.nd  immediately  commenced  that  life  of  patient  literary 
toil  from  which  he  never  swerved  again  while  health  and  intel- 
lect remained.     He  had  from  the  outset  an  allowance  of  o.ne 
hundred  and  sixty  pounds  a  year  from  his  friend  Mr.  Wynn,  till 
he  had  obtained  for  him  a  pension  of  equal  value  from  the  Gov- 
ernment.    Yet,  with  his  talents  and  industry,  he  was  constantly 
on  the  verge  of  poverty,  and  not  even  his  philosophy  and  hope- 
fulness were  always  proof  against  the  difficulties  of  his  position. 
In  1804  he  took  up  his  residence  at  Greta  Hall,  near  Keswick,  in 
Cumberland,  where  he  continued  to  reside  for  the  remainder  of 
his  life.     From  being  a  sceptic  and  a  republican,  he  became  a 
firm  believer  in  Christianity,  and  a  stanch  supporter  of  the  Eng- 
lish Church  and  Constitution.     In  1813  he  was  appointed  poet- 
laureate,  and  in  183^  received  a  pension  of  three  hundred  pounds 
a  year  from  the  Government  of  Sir  Robert  Peel.     During  the 
last  four  years  of  his  life  he  had  sunk  into  a  state  of  hopeless 
imbecility.     He  died  March  21,  1843.  ** 

472.  Southey's  literary  activity  was  prodigious.     The  list  of 
his  writings,  published  under  his  own  name,  amounts  to  one 


282  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.        CHAP.  XXV. 

hundred  and  nine  volumes.  In  addition  to  tnese  he  contributed 
to  the  Annual  Revie-M  fifty-two  articles,  to  the  Foreign  Quar- 
terly three,  to  the  Quarterly  ninety-four.  The  composition  of 
these  works  was  a  small  part  of  the  labor  they  involved  :  they 
are  all,  even  to  his  poems,  books  of  research,  which  obliged  him 
to  turn  over  numerous  volumes  for  the  production  of  one. 

473.  Joan  of  Arc,  the  earliest  of  his  long  poems,  was  a  juve- 
nile production  published  in  1795.    It  was  received  with  favor  by 
most  of  the  critical  journals  on  account  of  the  republican  doc- 
trines which  it  espoused.     Madoc,  which  was  completed  in  1799, 
was  not  given  to  the  world  till  1805.     Upon  this  poem  he  was 
contented  to  rest  his  fame.     It  is  founded  on  one  of  the  most 
absurd   legends   connected  with  the  early  history  of  America. 
Madoc  is  a  Welsh  prince  of  the  twelfth  century,  who  is  repre- 
sented as  making  the  discovery  of  the  Western  world;  and  his 
contests  with  the  Mexicans,   and   ultimate  conversion   of  that 
people  from  their  cruel  idolatry,  form  the  main  action  of  the 
poem,    which,    like    Joan   of  Arc,    is   written   in   blank  verse. 
Though  the  poem  is  crowded  with  scenes  of  more  than  possible 
splendor, — of  more  than  human  cruelty,  courage,  and  super- 
stition, —  the  effect  is  singularly  languid;  and  the  exaggeration 
of  prowess    and   suffering  produces  the  same  effect  upon  the 
mind  as  the  extravagance  of  fiction  in  the  two  Oriental  poems 
which  we  shall  next  notice. 

474.  Thalaba  was  published  in  1801,  and  the  Curse  oj  Kchama 
in  1810.     The  first  is  a  tale  of  Arabian  enchantment,  full  of  ma- 
gicians, dragons,  hippogriffs,  and  monsters;  and  in  the  second 
the  poet  has  selected  for  his  groundwork  the  still  more  unman- 
ageable mythology  of  the  Hindoos.     The  poems  are  written  in 
an   irregular  and  wandering  species  of  rhythm  —  the    Tkalaba 
altogether  without  rhyme ;    and  the   language   abounds'  in   an 
affected  simplicity,  and  perpetual  obtrusion  of  vulgar  and  puer- 
ile phraseology. 

475.  Kehama  was  followed,  at  an  interval  of  four  years,  by 
Roderick,  the  Last  of  the  Goths,  a  poem  in  blank  verse,  and  of 
a  much  more  modest  and  credible  character  than  its  predeces- 
sors.    The  subject  is  the  punishment  and  repentance  of  the  last 
Gothic  King  of  Spain,  whose  vices,  oppressions,  and  in  partic- 
ulaffcan  insult  offered  to  the   virtue  of  Florinda,   daughter  of 
Count  Julian,  incited  that  noble  to  betray  his  country  to  the 
Moors. 


A.  D.  1774-1843.      EGBERT  SOUTHS Y.  283 

470.  On  being  appointed  poet-laureate,  Southey  paid  his 
tribute  of  Court  adulation  with  an  eagerness  which  showed 
how  complete  was  his  conversion  from  the  political  faith  of  his 
youthful  days.  His  laureate  odes  exhibit  a  passionate  hatred 
of  his  former  liberal  opinions  which  gives  interest  even  to  the 
ambitious  monotony  of  these  official  lyrics. 

477.  Southey's  prose  works  are  very  numerous  and  valuable 
on  account  of  their  learning;  but  the  little  Life  of  Nelson,  (311} 
written  to  furnish  young  seamen  with  a  simple  narrative  of  the 
exploits  of  England's  greatest  naval  hero,  has  perhaps  never 
been  equalled  for  the  perfection  of  its  style.  In  his  other  works 
—  the  principal  of  which  are  The  Book  of  the  Church,  The 
Lives  of  the  British  Admirals,  The  Life  of  Wesley,  a  History 

of  Brazil,  and  a.  History  of  the  Peninsular  Wat we  find  the 

same  clear,  vigorous  English,  and  no  less  the  strong  prejudice 
and  violent  political  and  literary  partiality,  which  so  much 
detract  from  his  many  excellent  qualities  as  a  writer  and  as  a 
man. 


284  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.       CHAP.  XXVI. 


CHAPTER  xXXVI. 

THE    MODERN    NOVELISTS. 

478.  THE  department  of  English  literature  which  has  been 
cultivated  during  the  latter  half  of  the  last  and  the  commence- 
ment of  the  present  century  with  the  greatest  assiduity  and  suc- 
cess, is  undoubtedly  that  of  prose  fiction  —  the  romance  and  the 
novel. 

479.  To  give  an  idea  of  the  immense  richness  and  fertility  of 
this  branch  of  our  subject,   it  will  be  advisable  to  classify  the 
authors  and  their  productions  into  a  few  great  general  species ; 
which  plan  will  be  found,  we  trust,  to  secure  clearness  and  aid 
the  memory.     The  divisions  which  we  propose  are  as  follows : 
I.  Romances  properly  so  called;  *'.  c.  works  of  narrative  fiction, 
the  adventures  of  which  are  generally  of  a  picturesque  and  ro- 
mantic character,  and  the  personages  of  a  lofty  and  imposing 
kind.    II.  The  vast  class  of  pictures  of  society,  whether  invented 
or  not.     III.  Oriental  novels.     IV.  Naval  and  military  novels. 

480.  I.  ROMANCES.  —  The  impulse  to  this  branch  of  compo- 
sition was  first  given  by  HORACE  WALPOLE  (1717-1797),  (326} 
the  fastidious  dilettante  and   brilliant  chronicler  of  the   court 
scandal  of  his  day;  a  man  of  singularly  acute  penetration,  of 
sparkling  epigrammatic  style,  but  of  a  mind  devoid  of  enthusiasm 
and  elevation.    He  retired  early  from  political  life,  and  shut  him- 
self up  in  his  little  fantastic  Gothic  castle  of  Strawberry  Hill,  to 
collect  armor,  medals,  manuscripts,  and  painted  glass ;  and  to 
chronicle  with  malicious  assiduity,  in  his  vast  and  brilliant  cor- 
respondence, the  absurdities,  follies,  and  weaknesses  of  his  day. 
The  Castle  of  Otranto  is  a  short  tale,  written  with  great  rapidity 
and  without  preparation,   in  which  the  first  successful  attempt 
was  made  to  take  the  Feudal  Age  as  the  period,  and  the  passion 
of  mysterious,  superstitious  terror  as  the  prime  mover,  of  an  in- 
teresting fiction.    The  manners  are  totally  absurd  and  unnatural, 
the  heroine  being  one  of  those  inconsistent  portraits  in  which 
the  sentimental  languor  of  the  eighteenth  century  is  superadded 


A.D.  17C4-1851.    LEWIS.    MRS.   SHELLEY.  285 

to  the  female  character  of  the  Middle  Ages  —  in  short,  one  of 
those  incongruous  contradictions  which  we  meet  in  all  the  ro- 
mantic fictions  before  Scott. 

481.  The  immense  success  of  Walpole's  original  and  cleverly- 
written  tale  encouraged  other  and  more  accomplished  artists  to 
follow  in  the  same  track.     The  great  name  of  this  class  is  ANN 
RADCLIFFE  (1764-1823),  whose  numerous  romances  exhibit  a  sur- 
prising power  over  the  emotions  of  fear  and  undefined  mysterious 
suspense.     Her  two  greatest  works  are  The  Romance  of  the  For- 
est and  The  Mysteries  of  Udolpho.    The  scenery  of  her  predilec- 
tion is  that  of  Italy  and  the  south  of  France;  the  ruined  castles 
of  the  Pyrenees  and  Apennines  form  the  theatre,  and  the  dark 
passions  of  profligate  Italian  counts  the  principal  moving  power, 
of  her  wonderful  fictions.     The  substance  of  them  all  is  pretty 
nearly  the  same;  mystery  is  the  whole  spell;    the  personages 
have  no  more  individuality  than  the  pieces  of  a  chess-board ; 
but  they  are  made  the  exponents  of  such  terrible  and  intense 
fear,  suffering,  and  suspense,  that  we  sympathize  with  their  fate 
as  if  they  were  real. 

482.  A  class  of  writing  apparently  so  easy  was,  of  course,  fol- 
lowed by  a  crowd  of  writers.     Of  these  the  most  noteworthy  are 
Lewis  and  Mrs.   Shelley.     MATTHEW  GREGORY  LEWIS  (1775- 
1818),  a  good  natured,  effeminate  man  of  fashion,  the  friend  of 
Byron,  and  one  of  the  early  literary  advisers  of  Scott,  was  the 
first  to  introduce  into  England  a  taste  for  the  infant  German  lit- 
erature of  that  day,  with  its  spectral  ballads  and  diablerie  of  all 
kinds.     He  was  a  man  of  lively  and  childish  imagination;  and 
besides  his  metrical  translations  of  the  ballads  of  Bilrger,  and 
others  of  the  same  class,  he  published  in  his  twentieth  year  a 
prose  romance  called  The  Monk,  full  of  horrible  crimes  and  dia- 
bolic agency.     MRS.  SHELLEY  (1798-1851),  the  wife  of  the  poet, 
and  the   daughter  of  W.  Godwin,  wrote   in   Italy,  in   1816,  the 
powerful  tale  of  Frankenstein,  in  which  a  young  student  of  physi- 
ology succeeds  in  constructing,  out  of  the  horrid  remnants  of  the 
churchyard  and  dissecting-room,  a  kind  of  monster,  to  which 
he  afterwards  gives,   apparently  by  the  agency  of  galvanism,  a 
kind  of  spectral  and  convulsive  life.     Some  of  the  chief  appear- 
ances of  the  monster,  particularly  the  moment  when  he  begins 
to  move  for  the  first  time,  and,  towards  the  end  of  the  book, 
among  the  eternal  snows  of  the  arctic  circle,  are  managed  with 
a  striking  and  breathless  effect,  that  makes  us  for  a  moment  for* 


286  ENGLISH  LITEEATURE.      CHAP.  XXVI. 

get  the  childish  improbability  and  melodramatic  extravagance 
of  the  tale. 

483.  To  this  subdivision  belong  the  works  of  that  most  easy 
and  prolific  writer,  G.  P.  R.  JAMES  (1801-1862)  —  the  most  in- 
dustrious, if  not  always  most  successful,  imitator  of  Scott,  in 
the  revival  of  chivalric  and  Middle-Age  scenes.    The  number 
of  James's  works  is  immense,  but  they  bear  among  themselves 
a  family  likeness  so  strong,  and  even  oppressive,  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  consider  this  author  otherwise  than  as  an  ingenious 
imitator  and  copyist  —  first  of  Scott,   and  secondly  of  himself. 
He  is  particularly  versed  in  the  history  of  France,  and  some  of 
his  most  successful  novels  have  reference  to  that  country,  among 
which  we  may  mention  Richelieu.     His  great  deficiency  is  want 
of  real,  direct,  powerful  human  passion,  and  consequently  of  life 
and  movement  in  his  intrigues. 

484.  II.    Our  second  subdivision  —  the  Novels  of  real  life  and 
society —  is  so  extensive  that  we.  can  but  throw  a  rapid  glance  on 
its  principal  productions.     To  do  this  consistently  with  clear- 
ness, we  must  begin   rather  far  back,  with  the  novels  of  Miss 
Burney.     FRANCES  BURNEY  (1752-1840)  was  the   daughter  of, 
Dr.  Burney,  author  of  the  History   of  Music.     While  yet  resid- 
ing at  her  father's  house,  she  composed  in  her  stolen  moments 
of  leisure  the  novel  of  Evelina,  published  in  1778,  and  is  related 
not  to  have  communicated  to  her  father  the  secret  of  her  having 
written  it,  until  the   astonishing  success  of  the  fiction  rendered 
her  avowal  triumphant  and  almost  necessary.     Evelina  was  fol- 
lowed in   1782  by  Cecilia,  a  novel  of  the   same  character.     In 
1786  Miss  Burney  received  an  appointment  in  the  household  of 
Queen  Charlotte,  where  she  remained  till  her  marriage  in  1793 
with  Count  d'Arblay,  a  French  refugee  officer.     She  published 
after  her  marriage  a  novel  entitled   Camilla ;  and  her  name  has 
more  recently  come  before  the  public  by  her  Diary  and  Letters, 
which  appeared  in  1842,  after  her  death. 

485.  Miss  Burney  was  followed  by  a  number  of  writers,  chiefly 
women,  among  whom  the  names  of  Mrs.  Charlotte  Smith,  Mrs. 
Inchbald,  and  Mrs.  Opie,  are  prominent.     Their  fictions,   like 
those  of  Miss  Edgeworth  in  more  recent  times,  have  a  high  and 
never-failing  moral  aim  ;  and  these  ladies  have  exhibited  a  power 
over  the  feelings,  and  an  intensity  of  pathos,  not  much  inferior 
to  Richardson's  in  Clarissa  Harloive.     But  their  works  are  very 
unequal,  and  the  pathos  of  which  we  speak  is  not  diffused,  but 


A.  D.  1756-1836.     WILLIAM  GODWIN.  287 

concentrated  into  particular  moments  of  the  action;  and  is  ob- 
tained at  the  expense  of  great  preparation  and  involution  of 
circumstances. 

486.  At  the  head  of  the  second  division  of  our  fictions  is 
undoubtedly  WILLIAM  GODWIN  (1756-1836),  a  man  of  truly 
powerful  and  original  genius,  who  devoted  his  whole  life  to  the 
propagation  of  certain  social  and  political  theories  —  visionary, 
indeed,  and  totally  impracticable,  but  marked  with  the  impress  of 
benevolence  and  philanthropy.  He  was  in  reality  one  of  those 
hard-headed  enthusiasts  —  at  once  wild  visionaries  and  severe 
logicians  —  who  abounded  in  the  age  of  Marvel,  Milton,  and 
Harrington  ;  and  his  true  epoch  would  have  been  the  first  period 
of  Cromwell's  public  life.  His  own  career,  extending  down  to 
his  death  in  1836,  was  incessantly  occupied  with  literary  activ- 
ity :  he  produced  an  immense  number  of  works,  some  immortal 
for  the  genius  and  originality  they  display,  and  all  for  an  inten- 
sity and  gravity  of  thought,  for  reading  and  erudition.  The  first 
work  which  brought  him  into  notice  was  the  Inquiry  concerning- 
Political  Justice  (1793),  a  Utopian  theory  of  morals  and  gov- 
ernment, by  which  virtue  and  benevolence  were  to  be  the  pri- 
mum  mobile  of  all  human  actions,  and  a  philosophical  republic 
was  to  take  place  of  all  our  imperfect  modes  of  polity.  The 
first  and  finest  of  his  fictions  is  Caleb  Williams  (1794).  Its  chief 
didactic  aim  is  to  show  the  misery  and  injustice  arising  from  our 
present  imperfect  constitution  of  society,  and  the  oppression  of 
our  imperfect  laws,  not  merely  those  of  the  statute-book,  but 
also  those  of  social  feeling  and  public  opinion.  Caleb  Williams 
is  an  intelligent  peasant-lad,  taken  into  the  service  of  Falkland, 
the  true  hero,  an  incarnation  of  honor,  intellect,  benevolence, 
and  a  passionate  love  of  fame,  who,  however,  in  a  moment  of 
ungovernable  passion,  has  committed  a  murder,  for  which  he 
allows  an  innocent  man  to  be  executed.  This  circumstance, 
partly  by  accident,  partly  by  his  master's  voluntary  confession, 
Williams  learns,  and  is  in  consequence  pursued  through  the 
greater  part  of  the  tale  by  the  unrelenting  persecution  of  Falk- 
land, who  is  now  led,  by  his  frantic  and  unnatural  devotion  to 
fame,  to  annihilate,  in  Williams,  the  evidence  of  his  guilt.  The 
adventures  of  the  unfortunate  fugitive,  his  dreadful  vicissitudes 
of  poverty  and  distress,  the  steady,  bloodhound,  unrelaxing  pur- 
suit, the  escapes  and  disguises  of  the  victim,  like  the  agonized 
turnings  and  doublings  of  the  hunted  hare  —  all  this  is  depicted 


288  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.       CHAP.  XXVI. 

with  an  incessant  and  never-surpassed  power  of  breathless  inter- 
est. At  last  Caleb  is  formally  accused  by  Falkland  of  robbery, 
and  naturally  discloses  before  the  tribunal  the  dreadful  secret 
which  has  caused  his  long  persecution,  and  Falkland  dies  of 
shame  and  a  broken  heart.  The  interest  of  this  wonderful  tale 
is  indescribable;  the  various  scenes  are  set  before  us  with  some- 
thing of  the  minute  reality,  the  dry,  grave  simplicity  of  Defoe. 

487.  Of  more  modern  novelists  WILLIAM  MAKEPEACE  THACK- 
ERAY (1811-1863)  is  unquestionably  the  greatest.     He  was  born 
at  Calcutta  in  1811,  and  was  educated  at  the  Charterhouse,  to 
which  he  makes  loving  reference  in  his  Vanity  Fair  and   The 
Neivcomcs,  under  the  name  of  "  Grey  Friars."     He  afterwards 
went  to  Cambridge,  which  he  left  without  taking  his  degree. 
His  great  desire  at  this  time  was  to  become  an  artist;  and  with 
a  considerable  fortune  he  started  for  the  continent,  where  he 
studied  for  four  or  five  years  in  France,  Italy,  and  Germany. 
But  though  a  master  of  the  pencil,  Thackeray  was  not  destined 
to  become  a  great  artist.     On  returning  to  London  he  continued 
his  art  studies ;  but  the  loss   of  his   fortune  compelled  him  to 
throw  himself  with  all  his  powers  into  the  field  of  literature. 
He  was  first  known  by  his  articles  in  Fraser,  to  which  he  con- 
tributed  under   the   names   of  Michael  Angelo   Titmarsh   and 
George  Fitzboodle,  Esq.     Tales,  criticism,  and  poetry  appeared 
in  great  profusion ;  and  were  illustrated  by  the  author's  own 
pencil.      The   chief  of    his    contributions    to   Fraser  was    the 
tale  of  Barry  Lyndon,    The  Adventures  of  an  Irish   Fortune- 
Hunter.     This  was  full  of  humor  and  incident,  but  the  reading 
public  was  not  yet  expecting  a  great  future  from  this  unknown 
writer.     In   1841   Punch  was  commenced,  to  which  Thackeray 
contributed   the   Snob  Papers  and  Jcamcs^s  Diary,  and  many 
other  papers  in  prose  and  verse.     In  1846  and  the  two  following 
years  appeared    Vanity  Fair,  by  many  supposed  to  be  the  best 
of  his  works  —  certainly  the  most  original.     The  novel  was  not 
complete  before  its  author  took  his  place  among  the  great  wri- 
ters of  English  fiction.     It  seized  all  circles  with  astonishment. 
The  author  of  satirical  sketches  and  mirthful  poems  had  shown 
himself  to  be  a  consummate  satirist,  and  a  great  novelist.      Van- 
ity Fair  was  followed  by  his  other  novels,  of  which  we  shall 
speak  presently. 

488.  On  the  establishment  of  the  Cornhill  Magazine  in  1860, 
Thackeray  became  editor,  and  whilst  connected  with  it  he  con- 


A.  D.  1811-1863.  •  THACKERAY.  289 

tributed  his  later  stories,  The  Adventures  of  Philip,  Lovell  thz 
Widower,  and  a  little  monthly  sketch,  de  omnibus  rebus  et  qui- 
busdant  aliis,  though  oftener  de  nihilo,  called -the  Roundabout 
Papers.  He  died  suddenly  in  the  house  which  he  had  built  at 
Kensington  on  December  23,  1863. 

489.  Vanity  Fair,  the  first  of  Thackeray's  chief  works,  is  called 
a  "Novel  without  a  Hero."     It  is  possessed,  however,  of  two 
heroines  —  Rebecca  Sharp,  the  impersonation  of  intellect  with- 
out heart,  and  Amelia  Sedley,  who  has  heart  without  intellect; 
the  first  of  which  is  without  doubt  the  ablest  creation  of  modern 
fiction.     As  a  whole  the  book  is  full  of  quiet  sarcasm  and  severe 
rebuke ;  but  a  careful  reading  will  perceive  the  kindly  heart  that 
is  beating    under  the  bitterest  sentence  and  the  most  caustic 
irony. 

490.  Pendennis,  published  in  1849  anc*  1850,  was  the  immedi- 
ate successor  of  Vanity  Fair,  and  is  the  life  of  a  Tom  Jones  of 
the  present  age.     Literary  life    presents  scope  for  description, 
and  is  well  used  in  the  history  of  Pen,  who  is  a  hero  of  no  very 
great  worth.     As  Vanity  Fair  gives  .us  Thackeray's  knowledge 
of  life  in  the  present  day,  so  Esmond,  which  appeared  in  1854, 
exhibits  his  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  society  of  the  reigns 
of  the  later  Stuarts  and  earlier  Georges.     Like  Vanity  Fair,  it 
is  without  plot,  and  gives  in  an  autobiographical  form  the  his- 
tory of  Colonel  Henry  Esmond.     The  style  of  some  hundred 
and  fifty  years  ago  is  reproduced  with  marvellous  fidelity.     The 
story  of  Esmond  is  probably  the  best  of  Thackeray's  writings. 

491.  The  Virginians  is  the  history  of  the  grandsons  of  Es- 
mond, and  though  not  published  till  1857,  we  mention  it  next 
as  related  to  Esmond  in  history.     It  consists  of  a  series  of  well- 
described  scenes  and  incidents  in  the  reign  of  George  II.     In 
1853  was  ended  the  most  popular  and  best  liked  of  Thackeray's 
novels,   The  Nervcomes.     "The  leading  theme  or  moral  of  the 
story  is  the  misery  occasioned  by  forced  and  ill-assorted  mar- 
riages."    The  noble  courtesy,  the  Christian  gentlemanliness  of 
Colonel  Ne-ivcomc  is  perhaps  a  complete  reflection  of  the  author 
himself.     Ethel Ne-wcome  is  Thackeray's  favorite  female  charac- 
ter.     The  minor  personages  are  most  lifelike,  while  over  the 
whole  there  is  a  clear  exhibition  of  the  real  kindliness  of  heart 
which  Thackeray  possessed. 

492.  The  two  courses  of  lectures  On  the  English  Humorists 
and  The  Four  Georges,  are  models  of  style  and  criticism.     The 

19 


29G  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.       CHAP.  XXVI. 

latter  is  a  clever  sketch  of  the  home  and  court  life  of  the  first 
Hanoverians.  The  lectures  are  full  of  thoughts  sternly  abhor- 
rent of  the  falsity  and  rottenness  which  these  courts  presented, 
•while  admiration  for  the  goodness  and  kindness  of  the  third 
George  almost  makes  the  lecturer  forget  his  weaknesses.  The 
Humorists  is  a  more  valuable  work,  containing  some  of  the  most 
complete  criticism  on  those  writers  which  is  to  be  found  in  our 
language. 

493.  At  the  head  of  the  very  large  class  of  female  novelists 
•who  have  adorned  the  more  recent  literature  of  England,  we 
must  place  MARIA  EDGEWORTH  (about  1765-1849).  Her  long 
and  useful  life  was  chiefly  passed  in  Ireland ;  and  many  of  her 
.earlier  works  were  produced  in  partnership  with  her  father, 
Richard  Lovell  Edgeworth,  a  man  of  eccentric  character  and 
great  intellectual  activity,  who  devoted  himself  to  experiments 
in  education  and  social  ameliorations.  The  most  valuable  series 
of  Miss  Edgeworth's  educational  stories  were  the  charming  tales 
.entitled  Frank,  Harry  and  Lucy,  Rosamond,  and  others,  com- 
bined under  the  general  heading  of  Early  Lessons.  These  are 
written  in  the  simplest  style  and  language,  and  are  intelligible 
and  intensely  interesting  even  to  very  young  readers;  while  the 
knowledge  of  character  they  display,  the  naturalness  of  their 
incidents,  and  the  sound  practical  principles  they  inculcate,  make 
them  delightful  even  to  the  adult  reader.  In  the  Parents'  Assist- 
ant the  same  qualities  are  applied  to  the  moral  and  intellectual 
improvement  of  a  more  advanced  age;  and  the  common  errors, 
weaknesses,  and  prejudices  of  boys  and  girls  are  combated  in  a 
series  of  stories  which,  in  the  good  sense  and  observation  they 
display,  are  as  admirable  as  in  their  artistic  construction.  Some 
of  these  —  as,  for  example,  Simple  Susan — are  little  master- 
pieces of  style  and  execution.  But  perhaps  the  most  truly  origi- 
nal of  Miss  Edgeworth's  stories  is  the  inimitable  Castle  Rack- 
rent,  giving  the  biographies,  equally  humorous  and  pathetic, 
of  a  series  of  Irish  landlords.  The  follies  and  vices  which  have 
caused  no  small  proportion  of  the  social  miseries  that  have 
afflicted  Ireland  are  here  shown  up  with  a  truly  dramatic  effect. 
In  the  novels  of  Patronage  and  the  Absentee  other  social  errors, 
either  peculiar  to  that  country  or  common  to  it  with  others,  are 
powerfully  delineated.  Almost  all  these  works  show  a  delicate 
appreciation  of  the  merits  and  the  weaknesses  of  the  Irish  char- 
acter, and  especially  of  the  Irish  peasantry;  and  Miss  Edge- 


A.  D.  1779-1817.     JOHNGALT.    MISS  AUSTEN.       291 

worth  has  in  some  sense  done  for  her  humbler  countrymen  what 
Scott  did  with  such  loving  genius  for  the  Scottish  people.  The 
services  rendered  by  Maria  Edgeworth  to  the  cause  of  common 
sense  are  incalculable;  and  the  singular  absence  of  enthusiasm 
in  her  writings,  whether  religious,  political,  or  social,  only- 
makes  us  more  wonder  at  the  force,  vivacity,  and  consistency 
with  which  she  has  drawn  a  large  and  varied  gallery  of  char- 
acters. 

4!)4.  JOHN  GALT  (1779-1839),  in  a  long  series  of  novels,  has 
confined  himself  to  the  minute  delineation  of  the  interior  life 
of  the  Scottish  peasantry  and  provincial  tradespeople.  The 
Annals  of  the  Parish,  the  supposed  journal  of  a  quaint,  simple- 
minded  Presbyterian  pastor,  give  us  a  singularly  amusing  in- 
sight into  the  microscopic  details  of  Scottish  life  in  the  lower 
classes.  Gait's  primary  characteristic  is  a  dry,  subdued,  quaint 
humor  —  a  quality  very  perceptible  in  the  lower  orders  of  Scot- 
land, which  in  his  works,  as  in  the  national  cnaracter  of  his 
countrymen,  is  often  accompanied  by  a  very  profound  and  true 
sense  of  the  pathetic.  The  more  romantic  and  tragical  side  of 
the  national  idiosyncrasy  has  been  exquisitely  portrayed  in  the 
touching  tales  of  PROFESSOR  JOHN  WILSON  (1785-1854),  also 
celebrated  as  a  poet  and  the  author  of  Nodes  Ambrosiance,  of 
whom  we  shall  speak  more  fully  in  the  subsequent  chapter.  In 
his  Lights  and  Shadows  of  Scottish  Life,  published  in  1822,  and 
in  The  Trials  of  Margaret  Lyndsay,  which  appeared  in  1823, 
he  exhibits  a  deep  feeling  for  the  virtues  and  trials  of  humble 
life.  (318) 

495.  But  the  department  of  fiction  which  undoubtedly  pos- 
sesses not  only  the  greatest  degree  of  value  for  the  English 
reader,  but  will  have  the  most  powerful  attraction  for  foreign 
students  of  our  literature,  is  that  which  depicts  the. manners  of 
the  middle  and  lower  classes  of  the  English  people.  The  first 
in  point  of  time,  and  the  first  in  point  of  merit,  in  this  province 
is  Miss  AUSTEN  (1775-1817),  whose  novels  may  be  considered 
as  models  of  perfection  in  a  new  and  very  difficult  species  of 
writing.  She  depends  for  her  effect  upon  no  surprising  adven- 
tures, upon  no  artfully-involved  plot,  upon  no  scenes  deeply  pa- 
thetic or  extravagantly  humorous.  She  paints  a  society  which, 
though  virtuous,  intelligent,  and  enviable  above  all  others,  pre- 
sents the  fewest  salient  points  of  interest  and  singularity  to  the 
novelist:  we  mean  the  society  of  English  country-gentlemen. 


292  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.      CHAP.  XXVI. 

Whoever  desires  to  know  the  interior  life  of  that  vast  and  ad- 
mirable body  the  rural  gentry  of  England  —  a  body  which  abso- 
lutely exists  in  no  other  country  on  earth,  and  to  which  the 
nation  owes  many  of  its  most  valuable  characteristics  —  must 
read  Miss  Austen's  novels,  Sense  and  Sensibility,  Pride  and 
Prejudice,  Mansfield  Park,  and  Emma.  In  these  works  the 
-reader  will  find  very  little  variety  and  no  picturesqueness  of  per- 
sons, little  to  inspire  strong  emotion,  nothing  to  excite  wonder 
or  laughter;  but  he  will  find  admirable  good  sense,  exquisite 
discrimination,  and  an  unrivalled  power  of  easy  and  natural 
dialogue. 

496.  Among  the  almost  countless  host  of  female  novelists  that 
the  insatiable  appetite  of  these  later  times  for  this  kind  of  read- 
ing has  given  birth  to,  the  authoress  of  Jane  Eyre  is  distin- 
guished by  special  force  and  originality,  and  by  extraordinary 
.power  in  the  conception  and  delineation  of  character.     CHAR- 
LOTTE BRONTE  (1816-1855)  was  the  eldest  of  three  rather  re- 
markable  sisters,  daughters  of  the  incumbent  of  Haworth  in 
Yorkshire,  and  first  appeared  before  the  public  in  1846,  as  joint 
contributor  with  her  sisters  to  a  volume  of  poems  which  failed 
to  attract  any  attention.     But  her  next  work  met  with  a  very  dif- 
ferent fate.     In  1847  Jane  Eyre  was. published,  and  the  reputa- 
tion of  the  author,  who  wrote  under  the  name  of  Currer  Bell, 
was  fixed  as  one  of  the  highest  in  this  department  of  letters ; 
and  this  position  it  still  retains.     Shirley  followed  in  the  same 
style  in  1849,   anc^  Villette  in  1853  —  this  last  in  some  respects 
the  greatest  of  her  works.     In   1854  she  married  her  father's 
curate,  Mr.  Nicholls :  but  after  a  few  months  of  happiness.which 
contrast  strangely  with  the  many  troubles  of  her  earlier  days, 
died  in  the  beginning  of  1855.     Her  life  has  been  written  by  Mrs. 
GASKELL,  herself  a  novelist  of  great  merit,  lately  dead,  and  is 
one  of  the  saddest  and  most  touching  of  narratives. 

497.  Of  the  purely  comic  manner  of  fiction  there  are  few  bet- 
ter examples  than  the  novels  of  THEODORE  HOOK  (1788-1842). 
He  is  greatest  in  the  description  of  London  life,  and  particu- 
larly in  the  rich  drollery  with  which  he  paints  the  vulgar  efforts 
of  suburban  gentility  to  ape  the  manners  of  the  great.     There  is 
not  one  of  his  numerous  novels  and  shorter  tales  in  which  some 
scene  could  not  be  cited  carrying  this  kind  of  drollery  almost 
to  the  brink  of  farce.     What,  for  example,  can  be  more  irresisti- 
.blc.than  the  Bloomsbury  evening  party  in  Maxwell,  or  the  din- 


A.  D.  1789-1855.     TROLLOPE.    BECKFORD.  293 

ner  at  Mr.  Abberley's  in  The  Man  of  Many  Friends  ?  Hook's 
more  exclusively  serious  novels  are  generally  considered  as  in- 
ferior to  those  in  which  there  is  a  mixture  of  the  ludicrous ;  and 
for  one  of  the  last  works  produced  by  this  clever  writer  before 
his  death,  he  selected  a  subject  admirably  adapted  to  the  pecu- 
liar strength  of  his  talent.  This  was  Jack  Brag,  a  most  spirited 
embodiment  of  the  arts  employed  by  a  vulgar  pretender  to  creep 
into  aristocratic  society,  and  the  ultimate  discomfiture  of  the 
absurd  hero.  Hook  died  in  1842,  leaving  a  large  number  of 
works,  all  of  them  exhibiting  strong  proofs  of  humor,  but 
mostly  deprived  of  permanent  value  by  the  haste  perceptible  in 
their  execution.  The  best  of  them  are,  perhaps,  Gilbert  Gur- 
ney,  and  its  continuation,  Gurney  Married. 

498.  Very  similiar  to  Theodore  Hook  in  the  subject  and  treat- 
ment of  her  novels,  and  not  unlike  him  in   the  general  tone  of 
her  talent,  is  MRS.  TROLLOPE,  whose  happiest  efforts  are  the 
exhibition  of  the  gross  arts  and  impudent  stratagems  employed 
by  the  pretenders  to  fashion.     Her  best  work   is,   perhaps,  The 

Widow  Barnaby,  in  which  she  has  reached  the  ideal  of  a  charac- 
ter of  gross,  full-blown,  palpable,  complete  pretension  and  vul- 
gar assurance.  Mrs.  Trollope's  plots  are  exceedingly  slight 
and  ill-constructed,  but  her  narrative  is  lively,  and  she  par- 
ticularly excels  in  her  characters  of  goodnatured,  shrewd  old 
maids. 

499.  It  would  be  a  great  injustice  were  we  not  to  devote  a  few 
words  of  admiration  to  the  charming  sketches  of  Miss  MITFORD 
(1789-1855),  a  lady  who  has  described  the  village  life  and  scenery 
of  England  with  the  grace   and   delicacy  of  Goldsmith  himself. 
Our  Village  is  one  of  the  most  delightful  books  in  the  language ; 
it  is  full  of  those  home  scenes  which  form  the  most  exquisite  pe- 
culiarity, not  only  of  the  external  nature,  but  also  of  the  social 
life  of  the  country.      Miss  Mitford  describes  with  the  truth  and 
fidelity  of  Crabbe  and  Cowper,  but  without  the  moral  gloom  of 
the  one,  and  the  morbid  sadness  of  the  other. 

500.  III.  ORIENTAL  NOVELS.  —  There  exists  in  our  literature 
a  class  of  novels  which  have  for  their  aim  the  delineation  of  the 
manners  and  scenery  of  distant  countries  ;   and  as  among  these 
works  the  Oriental  are  naturally  the  most  splendid   and  promi- 
nent, we  shall  take  three  which  seem  the  most  favorable  speci- 
mens of  this  subdivision.     These  are  The  History  of  the  Caliph 
Vathek,  by  WILLIAM  BECKFORD  (1759-1844) ;  the  romance  of 


294  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.      CHAP.  XXVI. 

Anastasfus,  by  THOMAS  HOPE  (about  1770-1831)  ;  and  the  inim- 
itable Hajji  Baba  of  JAMES  MORIER  (d.  1849).  Vathek  is  an 
Arabian  tale,  and  was  originally  published  in  1784,  in  French*. 
being  one  of  the  rare  instances  of  an  Englishman  being  able 
to  write  that  difficult  language  with  the  grace  and  purity  of  a 
native.  Being  afterwards  translated  by  the  author  into  his 
mother  tongue,  it  forms  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  monu- 
ments of  splendid  imagery  and  caustic  wit  which  literature  can 
afford.  It  narrates  the  adventures  of  a  haughty  and  effeminate 
monarch,  led -on,  by*the  temptations  of  a  malignant  genie  and 
the  sophistries  of  a  cruel  and  ambitious  mother,  to  commit  all 
sorts  of  crimes,  to  abjure  his  faith,  and  to  offer  allegiance  to 
Eblis,  the  Mahomed  an  Satan,  in  the  hope  of  seating  himself  on 
the  throne  of  the  Preadamite  Sultans.  In  the  concluding  scene, 
which  soars  into  the  highest  atmosphere  of  grand  descriptive 
poetry,  he  descends  into  the  subterranean  palace  of  Eblis,  where 
he  does  homage  to  the  Evil  One,  and  wanders  for  a  while  among 
the  superhuman  splendors  of  those  regions  of  punishment.  The 
fancy  of  genius  has  seldom  conceived  anything  more  terrible 
than  the  concluding  portion  of  this  strange  work. 

501.  Hope's  work,  though  very  different  in  form  from  that  of 
Beckford,  was  not  unlike   it  in   some  points.     Anastasius,  pub- 
lished in   1819,  purports  to  be  the  autobiography  of  a  Greek, 
who,  to  escape  the  consequences  of  his  own  crimes  and  villanies 
of  every  kind,  becomes  a  renegade,  and  passes  through  a  long 
series  of  the  most  extraordinary  and  romantic  vicissitudes.    The 
hero  is  a  compound  of  almost  all  the  vices  of  his  unfortunate  and 
degraded   nation;    and   in   his   vicissitudes   of   fortune   we   see 
passing  before  us,  as  in   a  diorama,  the  whole  social,  political, 
and  religious  life  of  Turkey  and  the  Morea.      The  style  is  elabo- 
rate and  passionate;  and  this,  as  well  as  the  character  of  the 
principal  personage, 

"  Linked  with  one  virtue  and  a  thousand  crimes," 

reminds  us,  in  reading  Anastasius,  very  strongly  of  the  manner 
of  Lord  Byron. 

502.  But  if  the  darker  side  of  Oriental  nature  be  presented  to 
us   in    Vathek  and  Anastasius,  the  Hajji  Baba  of  Morier  will 
make  us   ample  amends   in   drollery  and  a  truly  comic  verve. 
This  is  the  Gil  Bias  of  Oriental  life.      Hajji  Baba  is  a  barber  of 
Ispahan,   who  passes  through  a  long  but   delightfully   varied 


A.  D.  1 792-1 848.      CAPTAIN  MARE  YA T.  295 

series  of  adventures,  such  as  happen  in  the  despotic  and  simple 
governments  of  the  East,  where  the  pipe-bearer  of  one  day  may 
become  the  vizier  of  the  next.  The  hero  is  an  easy,  merry  good- 
for-nothing,  whose  dexterity  and  gayety  it  is  impossible  not  to 
admire,  even  while  we  rejoice  in  the  punishment  which  his 
manifold  rascalities  draw  down  upon  him ;  and  perhaps  there  is 
no  work  in  the  world  which  gives  so  vast,  so  lively,  and  so 
accurate  a  picture  of  every  grade,  every  phase  of  Oriental  ex- 
istence. 

503.  IV.  NAVAL   AND  MILITARY  NOVELS.  —  It  now  remains 
only  to  speak  of  one  species  of  prose  fiction  —  that  which  has 
for  its  subject  the  manners  and  personages  of  marine  or  military 
life.     It  may  easily  be  conceived  -that,  the  former  service  being 
most  entwined  with  all  the  sympathies  of  the  national  heart,  the 
subdivision  of  marine  novels  should  be  the  richest.     At  the  head 
of  this  class  stands  CAPTAIN  MARRYAT  (1792-1848),  one  of  the 
most  easy,  lively,  and  truly  humorous  story-tellers  we  possess. 
One  of  the  chief  elements  of  his  talent  is  undoubtedly  the  tone 
of  high,  effervescent,  irrepressible  animal  spirits  which  character- 
izes everything  he  has  written.     He  seems  half-tipsy  with  the 
gayety  of  his  heart,  and  never  scruples  to  introduce  the  most 
grotesque  extravagances  of  character,  language,  and  event,  pro- 
vided they  are   likely  to   excite   a   laugh.     Nothing  can  surpass 
the  liveliness  and  drollery  of  his  Peter  Simple,  Jacob  Faithful, 
or  Mr.  Midshipman   Easy  ;  what  an    inexhaustible   gallery   of 
originals  has  he  paraded  before  us  !    Marryat's  narratives  are  ex- 
ceedingly inartificial,  and  often  grossly  improbable ;  but  we  read 
on  with  gay  delight,  never  thinking  of  the  story,  but  only  solicit- 
ous to  follow  the  droll  adventures,  and  laugh  at  the  still  droller 
characters.     This  author  has  a  peculiar  talent  for  the  delineation 
of  boyish  characters  :  his  Faithful  and  Peter  Simple  (the  "  fool 
of  the  family  ")  not  only  amuse  but  interest  us ;  and  in  many  pas- 
sages he  has  shown  no  mean  mastery  over  the  pathetic  emotions. 
Though  superficial  in  his  view  of  character,  he  is  generally  faith- 
ful to  reality,  and  shows  an  extensive  if  not  very  deep   knowl- 
edge of  what  his  old  waterman    calls  "  human    natur."     There 
are  few  authors  more  amusing  than  Marryat ;  his  books  have  the 
effervescence  of  champagne. 

504 .  The  tales  called  Tom  Cringle's  Log  and  The  Cruise  of  the 
Midge   are    also  works  in  this   kind  (although  not  exclusively 
naval)  of  striking  brilliancy  and  imaginative  power.     In  these 


296  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.      CHAP.  XXVI. 

we  have  a  most  gorgeously  colored  and  faithful  delineation  of 
the  luxuriant  scenery  of  the  West  Indian  Archipelago,  and  the 
manners  of  the  Creole  and  colonist  population  are  reproduced 
with  consummate  drollery  and  inexhaustible  splendor  of  lan- 
guage. They  were  the  production  of  MR.  MICHAEL  SCOTT  (d. 
1835),  a  gentleman  engaged  in  commerce,  and  personally  famil- 
iar with  the  scenes  he  described ;  and  the  admiration  they  excited 
at  their  first  appearance  (anonymously)  in  Black-wood's  Maga- 
zine cau'sed  them  to  be  ascribed  to  the  pen  of  some  of  the  most 
distinguished  of  living  writers,  particularly  to  that  of  PRO- 
FESSOR WILSON. 

505.   The  military  novels  are  mostly  by  living  authors,  and  are 
therefore  excluded  from  our  work. 


A.  D.  1800.         NINETEENTH  CENTURY.  297 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

PROSE  LITERATURE  OF    THE    NINETEENTH   CENTURY. 

506.  THE  early  years  of  the  present  century  were  years  of 
conflict  and  excitement.     The  public  mind  was  wrought  to  the 
highest  pitch,  now  of  fear,  and  now  of  triumph.     England  fought 
for  the  liberties  of  Europe ;  at  times  the  struggle  seemed  to  be 
for  her  own  existence.     The  literature  of  a  people  always  reflects 
something  of  the  prevalent  tone  of  its  age,  and  we  may  there- 
fore expect  that  the  chief  compositions  of  the  first  thirty  years 
of  this  century  will  be  marked  by  intense  feeling,  pa*ssion,  and 
emotion.     Accordingly  there  is  no  age  in  English  history  which 
can  exhibit  such  an  array  of  masters  of  song.     The  most  pas- 
sionate states  of  the  human  mind  demand  an  expression  in  song. 
In  the  "Victorian  age,"  on  the  other  hand,  the  prose  element 
has  predominated.     The  calmer  inquiries  into  politics,  philos- 
ophy, art,   and   physical  science,  have  been  prosecuted  in    the 
more  tranquil  period,    and   the   first  noticeable  feature  in   the 
writers  of  the  present  century  is  the  growing  prevalence  of  our 
prose  literature,  more  especially  in  the  department  of  fiction. 

507.  Another  feature   of  the   present  age   is   the  growth  of 
periodical  literature.      The  rise  of  our  leading  reviews  will  be 
noticed  presently,  and  together  with  these  have  sprung  up  the 
countless  magazines  and  newspapers  which  form  the  chief  part 
of  most  men's  reading.     The  Book  has  become  too  laborious, 
too  tedious  a  thing  for  the  study  of  this  overworked  age.     We 
have  come  to  require   stimulants  in   our   reading.     Everybody 
reads  something,  and  few  read  much. 

508.  The  chief  external  influence  affecting  the  literature  of 
the  age  has  come  from  Germany.     The  thoughts  and  even  style 
of  this  philosophical  literature  have   done  much  to  shape   and 
regulate  English  thoughts  and  language.     Coleridge  introduced 
it  largely,  and  he  has  been  followed  in  the  work  by  Thomas 
Carlyle. 

509.  In  no  department  of  literature  has  Europe  made  greater 


298  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.     CHAP.  XXVII. 

progress  during  the  present  century  than  in  that  of  History.  A 
new  impulse  was  given  to  the  study  of  Ancient  History  by  the 
publication  of  the  first  volume  of  Niebuhr's  Roman  History,  in 
Germany,  in  1811.  This  remarkable  work  taught  scholars  not 
only  to  estimate  more  accurately  the  value  of  the  original  au- 
thorities, but  to  enter  more  fully  into  the  spirit  of  antiquity,  and 
to  think  and  feel  as  the  Romans  felt  and  thought.  In  the  treat- 
ment of  Modern  History  the  advance  has  been  equally  striking. 
An  historical  sense,  so  to  speak,  has  grown  up.  A  writer  of  any 
period  of  modern  history  is  now  expected  to  produce  in  support 
as  his  facts  the  testimony  of  credible  contemporary  witnesses; 
while  the  public  records  of  most  of  the  great  European  nations, 
now  rendered  accessible  to  students,  have  imposed  upon  histori- 
ans a  labor,  and  opened  sources  of  information,  quite  unknown 
to  Hume,  Robertson,  and  the  historical  writers  of  the  preceding 
century. 

510.  The  most  eminent  English  writers  upon  Ancient  History 
are  BISHOP  THIRLWALL  and  GEORGE  GROTE,  both  of  whom 
have  produced  Histories  of  Greece  far  superior  to  any  existing 
in  other  European  languages,  but  who,  as  living  writers,  are 
excluded  from  the  present  work.  DR.  THOMAS  ARNOLD  (1795- 
1842),  Head-Master  of  Rugby  School,  wrote  a  History  of  Rome 
in  three  volumes  (1838-40-42),  which  was  broken  off,  by  his 
death,  at  the  end  of  the  Second  Punic  War.  This  work  is  chiefly 
valuable  as  a  popular  exhibition  of  Niebuhr's  views,  and  is 
written  in  clear  and  masculine  English.  Dr.  Arnold  also  pub- 
lished some  Introductory  Lectures  on  Modern  History  (1842), 
which  display  more  independence  of  thought.  He  was  also  the 
author  of  several  theological  works,  which  exercised  great  in- 
fluence upon  his  generation.  The  most  formidable  opponent  of 
Niebuhr's  views  was  SIR  GEORGE  CORNEWALL  LEWIS  (1806-1863), 
equally  remarkable  as  a  statesman  and  a  scholar.  His  most  im- 
portant historical  work  is  An  Inquiry  into  the  Credibility  of  the 
early  Roman  History,  published  in  1855.  While  rejecting  with 
Niebuhr  the  received  narrative  of  early  Roman  history,  Sir 
George  Lewis  attacks  the  defective  method  adopted  by  the  Ger- 
man historian  in  attempting  to  reconstruct  this  portion  of  Roman 
history.  He  was  also  the  author  of  many  valuable  political 
works,  of  which  the  mo^t  important  are.  A  Treatise  on  the  Method 
of  Observation  and  Reasoning  in  Politics,  the  Influence  of  Au- 
thority in  Matters  of  Opinion,  and  the  Use  and  Abuse  of  Political 
Terms. 


A.  D.  1800-1859.  MACAULAT.  299 

511.  The  most  illustrious  recent  writer  of  modern  history  is 
THOMAS  BABINGTON  MACAULAY  (1800-1859),  raised  to  the  peer- 
age, in  1857,  as  Lord  Macaulaj  of  Roth  ley.  {341,  34:2}  He 
was  the  son  of  Zachary  Macaulay.  an  ardent  philanthropist,  and 
one  of  the  earliest  opponents  of  the  slave  trade.  Educated  at 
Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  of  which  College  he  became  a 
Fellow,  and  called  to  the  bar  at  Lincoln's  Inn,  he  suddenly 
achieved  a  literary  reputation  by  an  article  on  Milton  in  the 
Edinburgh  Review  in  1825.  This  was  the  first  of  a  long  series 
of  brilliant  literary  and  historical  essays  which  he  contributed 
to  the  same  periodical.  His  career  as  a  statesman  was  both 
brilliant  and  successful,  but  it  is  as  a  man  of  letters  that  his  name 
will  be  longest  remembered. 

.  512.  Macaulay  is  distinguished  as  a  Poet,  (3,25)  an  Essayist, 
and  an  Historian.  His  Lays  of  Ancient  Rome  are  the  best 
known  of  his  poems ;  but  the  lines  which  he  wrote  upon  his 
defeat  at  Edinburgh  in  1847  are  the  finest.  His  Essays  and  his 
History  will,  in  virtue  of  their  inimitable  style,  always  give 
Macaulay  a  high  place  among  English  classics.  His  style  has 
been  well  described  by  Dean  Milman.  "  Its  characteristics  were 
vigor  and  animation,  copiousness,  clearness;  above  all,  sound 
English,  now  a  rare  excellence.  The  vigor  and  life  were  una- 
bating;  perhaps  in  that  conscious  strength  which  cost  no  exer- 
tion he  did  not  always  gauge  and  measure  the  force  of  his  own 
words.  .  .  .  His  copiousness  had  nothing  tumid,  diffuse,  Asiatic; 
no  ornament  for  the  sake  of  ornament.  As  to  its  clearness,  one 
may  read  a  sentence  of  Macaulay  twice  to  judge  of  its  full  force, 
never  to  comprehend  its  meaning.  His  English  was  pure,  both 
in  idiom  and  in  words,  pure  to  fastidiousness ;  .  .  .  every  word 
must  be  genuine  English,  nothing  that  approached  real  vulgarity, 
nothing  that  had  not  the  stamp  of  popular  use,  or  the  authority 
of  sound  English  writers,  nothing  unfamiliar  to  the  common  ear." 

513.  Macaulay 's  Essays  are  philosophical  and  historical  dis- 
quisitions, embracing  a  vast  range  of  subjects:  but  the  larger 
number  and  the  most  important  relate  to  English  History. 
These  Essays,  however,  were  only  preparatory  to  his  great  work 
on  the  History  of  England,  which  he  had  intended  to  write  from 
the  accession  of  James  II.  to  the  time  immediately  preceding  the 
French  Revolution.  But  of  this  subject  he  lived  to  complete 
only  a  portion.  The  two  first  volumes,  published  in  1849,  con- 
tain the  reign  of  James  II.  and  the  Revolution  of  1688;  two 


300  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.       CHAP.  XXVII. 

more,  which  appeared  in  1855,  bring  down  the  reign  of  William 
III.  to  the  peace  of  Ryswick  in  1697;  while  a  fifth,  published  in 
1861,  after  the  author's  death,  nearly  completes  the  history  of 
that  reign. 

514:.  The  other  great  writer  on  modern  history  in  the  present 
century,  superior  in  judgment  to  Macaulay,  though  inferior  in 
graces  of  style,  is  HENRY  HALLAM  (1777-1859).  (337)  He  was 
one  of  the  early  contributors  to  the  Edinburgh  Review,  and  his 
criticism  in  that  Journal,  in  1808,  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  edition 
of  Dryden's  works  was  marked  by  that  power  of  discrimination 
and  impartial  judgment  which  characterized  all  his  subsequent 
writings. 

515.  The  result  of  his  long-continued  studies  first  appeared 
fully  in  his  View  of  the  State  of  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages, 
published  in  1818,  and  exhibiting,  in  a  series  of  historical  dis- 
sertations, a  comprehensive  survey  of  the  chief  circumstances 
that  can   interest  a  philosophical   inquirer    during   the   period 
usually  denominated  the  Middle  Ages.     Mr.  Hallam's  next  work 
was  The  Constittitional  History  of  England  from  the  Accession 
of  Henry  VII.  to  the  Death  of  George  II. ,  published   in    1827; 
and  his  third  great  production  was  An  Introduction  to  the  Lit- 
erature of  Europe,  in  the  Fifteenth,  Sixteenth,  and  Seventeenth 
Centuries,  which  appeared  in  1837-39.    Mr.  Hallam's  latter  years 
were  saddened  by  the  loss  of  his  two  sons,  the  eldest  of  whom 
formed  the  subject  of  Tennyson's  In  Memoriam. 

516.  An  estimate  of  Hallam's  literary  merits  has  been  given 
by  Macaulay,  his  illustrious  contemporary,  in  a  review  of  the 
Constitutional  History:  —  "Mr.    Hallam  is,   on  the  whole,  far 
better  qualified  than  any  other  writer  of  our  time  for  the  office 
which  he  has  undertaken.     He   has  great  industry  and  great 
acuteness.     His  knowledge  is  extensive,  various,  and  profound. 
His.  mind  is  equally  distinguished  by  the  amplitude  of  its  grasp, 
and  by  the  delicacy  of   its  tact.  .  .  .  His  work   is   eminently 
judicial.     The  whole  spirit  is  that  of  the  bench,  not  that  of  the 
bar.     He   sums   up  with   a  calm,   steady  impartiality,    turning 
neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left,  glossing  over  nothing,  exag- 
gerating nothing,  while  the  advocates  on  both  sides  are  alter- 
nately biting  their  lips  to   hear  their  conflicting  misstatements 
and  sophisms  exposed.     On  a  general  survey,  we  do  not  scruple 
to  pronounce  the  Constitutional  History  the  most  impartial  book 
that  we  have  ever  read." 


I 

A.  D.  1791-1868.    HENRY  HART  MILMAN.  301 

517.  The  oft-repeated  reproach  once  directed  against  the  Eng- 
lish people  that  Gibbon  was  its  only  ecclesiastical  historian  has 
been  entirely  removed  by  HENRY  HART  MILMAN  (1791-1868), 
Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  one  of  the  best-balanced  and  most  highly- 
cultivated  intellects  that  England  has  ever  produced.  To  By- 
ron, writing  in  1821,  he  is  merely  — 

"  The  poet-priest  Milrnan, 
So  ready  to  kill  man ; " 

author  of  Fazio  and  Samor,  and  a  somewhat  trenchant  reviewer 
in  the  "  Quarterly."  To  us,  however,  he  is  something  more  — 
an  historian  whose  astonishing  impartiality  is  perhaps  not  the 
greatest  of  his  merits,  an  editor  of  Gibbon  distinguished  alike 
by  the  breadth  and  accuracy  of  his  knowledge  and  by  a  high- 
toned  liberality,  and  a  classical  scholar  of  singular  taste  and 
judgment.  He  held  for  many  years  the  professorship  of  Poetry 
at  Oxford,  to  which  he  was  elected  in  1821 ;  and  in  addition  to 
the  above-mentioned  works  he  published  at  different  times  The 
Martyr  of  Antioch,  the  Fall  of  Jerusalem,  and  other  poems,  all 
respectable  in  their  way,  but  falling  far  short  of  supreme  excel- 
lence. Fazio  and  the  Fall  of  Jerusalem,  both  dramas,  are  per- 
haps the  most  meritorious.  But  it  is  upon  his  historical  produc- 
tions that  his  fame  rests.  These  have  already  taken  their  place 
among  the  English  classics ;  and  it  will  be  long  before  they  are 
superseded.  They  consist  of  three  great  works,  the  History  of 
the  Jeivs,  the  History  of  Christianity,  and  last,  though  very  far 
from  least,  the  History  of  Latin  Christianity,  which  appeared  in 
1829.  1840,  and  1854,  respectively.  Certain  indispensable  quali- 
ties of  the  true  historian  Milman  possessed  in  fuller  perfection 
than  any  English  writer  that  ever  lived,  —  the  keenest  critical 
sagacity,  a  rare  faculty  of  sifting  and  determining  the  exact 
value  of  evidence,  a  mind  singularly  free  from  prejudice,  and 
almost  unerring  in  its  power  of  penetrating  to  the  truth,  wher- 
ever truth  were  attainable.  His  knowledge  was  enormous;  and 
he  seems  to  move  with  the  most  perfect  ease  beneath  the  im- 
mense weight  of  his  acquisitions,  which  never  once  interfered 
with  his  independence  of  thought.  Few  men  have  won  a 
more  honorable  position  in  literature  than  Dean  Milman ;  he 
grappled  with  a  subject  which,  more  than  any  other  tries  the 
historical  sinew ;  extending  over  a  vast  period  of  time,  embra- 
cing the  widest  area  of  human  activity,  and  dealing  with  the 
subtilest.and  most  ..intricate  of  phenomena,  it  presents  difficult 


* 
302  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.     CHAP.  XXVII. 

ties  which  any  but  the  boldest  would  naturally  shrink  from.  It 
is  the  undying  distinction  of  this  great  writer  that  on  this  subject 
he  has  produced  a  series  of  works  likely  to  last  as  long  as  the 
language  they  are  written  in.  His  latest,  which  is  indeed  also  a 
posthumous  publication,  the  Annals  of  St.  Pauls  Cathedral,  is 
interesting  as  showing  that  his  magnificent  powers  remained 
undecayed  until  the  end. 

518.  The  theological  and  religious  literature  of  this   age  is 
-marked  by  a   less   metaphysical   character  than   that  of  former 
times.     Works  of  a  controversial  kind  have  been  fewer,  while 
greater  attention  has  been  paid  to  exegetical  studies.     The  prac- 
tical  and    homiletical   works  have    been  very  numerous.     The 
array  of  Sermons  which  the  last  sixty  years  have  seen  published 
is   appalling,  and  if  the  good   accomplished   has  been   propor- 
tioned to  the  number  of  tracts  and  sermons  issued,  there  must 
certainly  have  been  an  effect  which  should  cheer  the  believer  in 
human  progress.     Space  forbids  even  a  mention  of  the  Societies 
whose  special  work  is  the  publication  of  religious  literature,  of 
which  many  were  founded  in  the  present  century,  and  all  have 
received  their  greatest  success  in  the  present  age.     Many  of  the 
best-known  religious  writers  have  won  their  chief  literary  honr 
ors  in   the  other  fields  of  criticism,  history,  or  philosophy,  and 
will  receive   notice   there.     The   three   most  distinguished   the- 
ological writers  are  perhaps  Hall,  Foster,  and  Chalmers. 

519.  In  Philosophy  a   large  number  of  contributions  to  our 
literature  has  been  made  during  the  period  under  our  considera- 
tion.    Though  pdVhaps  there  has  been  but  little  original  specu- 
lation, and  no  great  discovery  in  mental  science,  the  investigation 
of  metaphysical   phenomena  has  been   profound  and  accurate. 
The  scope  of  this  work  forbids  a  notice  of  living  writers ;  other- 
wise we  might  refer  to  some  names,  such  as  JOHN  STUART  MILL, 
whose   analyses  and  investigations,  more  especially  in  the  sys- 
tems of  inductive  science,  have  had  none  to  compare  with  them 
since  the  great  work  of  Bacon;  while  in  the  more  direct  exami- 
nation of  mental  phenomena,  the  Scotch  school  has  had  some 
of  its   ablest  members   in   the  present  era,  and  the  materialist 
schools  of  different  color  have  found  their  strongest  advocates 
and  expounders  in  writers,  many  of  whom  are  still  living.     The 
iniluence  of  Germany  has  been  felt  in  no  department  of  our  lit- 
erature so  greatly  as  here.    The  followers  of  Reid  owe  no  little  to 
the  writings  of  Kant,  whilst  the  .idealists  of  England  have  bor- 


A.  D.  1788-1863.     HAMILTON.     WIIATELY.  3C3 

rowed  no  little  of  the  truth  they  hold  from  the  profound  though 
the  very  obscure  speculations  of  Hegel.  The  study  of  logic  in 
England  proper  has  been  revived  almost  within  our  own  memory, 
and  the  once  neglected  studies  have  emerged  from  their  misappre- 
hension and  obloquy,  and  are  rapidly  gaining  in  the  universities 
their  proper  position  abreast  of  classics  and  mathematics. 

520.  SIR  WILLIAM  HAMILTON  (1788-1856),  (339}  the  son  of 
Dr.  Hamilton,  of  Glasgow,  was  educated  at  Oxford,  and  called 
to  the  bar  in  1813.  He  betfame  Professor  of  Universal  History 
at  Edinburgh,  in  1821,  and  in  1836  obtained  the  Chair  of  Logic 
and  Metaphysics,  which  he  occupied  until  his  death.  His  chief 
•works  were  essays  in  the  Edinburgh  Review,  collected  as  Dis- 
cussions on  Philosophy,  &c.  (1852),  and  An  Edition  of  Reid,  with' 
Dissertations.  His  Lectures  have  been  published,  since  his 
death,  under  the  editorship  of  Mr-  Mansel  and  Mr.  Veitch.  Sir 
William  Hamilton  was  without  doubt  the  greatest  philosopher 
of  his  age.  He  founded  his  system  on  consciousness,  following 
Reid  more  than  any  other  master,  and  guiding  his  speculations 
by  Aristotle  and  Kant.  His  style  is  a  model  of  philosophical 
writing.  It  is  clear,  capacious,  and  appropriate.  It  neither  per- 
plexes by  technicalities,  nor  misleads  by  figure  and  illustration. 

521.  ARCHBISHOP   WHATELY    (1787-1863),    the    son    of   Dr. 
Whately  of  Nonsuch  Park,  Surrey,  was  born  in  London,  and 
educated  at  Oriel  College,  Oxford.  (34:6}     Having  entered  the 
Church,  he  became  Rector  of  Halesworth  in  1822,  Principal  of 
St.  Alban's  Hall  in  1825,  then  Professor  of  Political  Economy, 
and  in  1831  was  raised  to  the  archiepiscopal  see  of  Dublin.     His 
first  publications  were,  in  1821,  three  sermons  on  the  Christian  s 
Duty  with  respect  to  the  Government,  followed  by  his  Bampton 
Lectures ;  and,  in  1826  and  1828,  by  his  Logic  and  Rhetoric.    To 
enumerate  all  the  publications  of  this  diligent  writer  would  not 
be  possible  in  this  sketch.     The  chief  were  his  essays  on  New 
Testament  Difficulties  (1828),  the  Sabbath  and  Romanism,  which 
were  produced  together  two  years  later.     His  lectures  on  Politi- 
cal Economy  appeared   in   1831 ;  and  later  he  published  other 
works  on  social  and   economical  questions. 

522.  Whately  had  a  mind  of  great  logical  power,  with  little 
imagination  and  fancy.     His  views  of  questions  are  often  shal- 
low, but  always  practical.     His  style  is  luminous,  easy,  and  well 
adorned  with  every-day  illustrations.    A  moralist  of  much  higher 
tone  than  Paley,  —  which  fact  arose  from^he  general  spirit  of  his 


30-f  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.     CHAP.  XXVII. 

time, —  he  is  the  best  representative  of  Paley  in  the  present  age. 
He  is,  as  Paley  was,  clear  rather  than  profound,  vigorous  rather 
than  subtile ;  with  little  speculation  he  unites  much  practical  sense. 

523.  A  very  important  portion  of  modern  literature  embraces 
those  subjects  which  have  reference  to  physical  science.     Our 
forefathers  were  more  satisfied  with  reasons  than  with  facts. 
The  aim  of  modern  investigators  is  to  discover  what  is  hidden 
in  nature,  rather  than,  by  a  course  of  deductive  reasoning  from 
pre-established  principles,  to  display  what  ought  to  be  found  in 
nature.     The  inductive  method  of  Bacon  has  never  been  so  care- 
fully applied  and  diligently  followed  as  in  the  scientific  researches 
of  the  nineteenth  century;  and  the  advance  of  physical  science 
has  therefore  been  more  rapid  than  that  of  any  other  branch  of 
human  knowledge.    The  greatest  writers  on  physical  science  are 
still  alive;  and  many  of  them  will  deserve  a  place  in  English 
literature  on  account  of  the  style  of  their  writings,  such  as  HER- 
SCHEL,  LYELL,  OWEN,  and  HUXLEY. 

524.  We  now  pass  on  to  the  most  extensive  of  the  prose  writ- 
ings of  the  nineteenth  century  —  namely,  those  which  are  for 
the  most  part  found  scattered  in   magazines  and  serials,  and 
which  embrace  the  critical  essays  and  other  compositions  on 
social,  political,  and  moral  subjects.     The  increased  facilities  of 
printing  and  a  larger  class  of  readers  have  combined  to  render 
the  "  periodicals  "  the  great  feature  of  the  age.    These  range  from 
the  valuable  quarterlies,  through  the  various  forms  of  magazine 
and  review,  down 'to  the  daily  paper,  the  peculiar  feature  of  the 
literature  of  the  times.    Some  of  the  most  valuable  of  our  essays 
have  been  contributed  to  these   magazines.      Every  shade   of 
politics,  every  school  of  philosophy,  every  sect  of  religion,  has 
its  paper  or  its  magazine.    No  feature  is  so  striking  in  this  class 
of  writings  as  the  real  worth  and  ability  displaced  in  many  of 
the  articles  of  the  periodicals.     To  give  a  history  of  all  these 
periodicals  is  of  course  impossible,  but  the  Edinburgh  and  Quar- 
terly Reviews  imparted  such  an  impulse  to  literature  as  to  de- 
mand a  few  words. 

525.  The  Edinburgh  Review  was  established  in   1802  by  a 
small  party  of  young  men,  —  Brougham,  (307,  368}  Jeffrey, 
(333}  Sydney  Smith,  Horner,  —  obscure  at  that  time,  but  am- 
bitious and  enterprising,  who  were  all  destined  to  attain  a  high 
degree  of  distinction.     It  founded  its  claim  to  success  upon  the 
boldness  and  vivacity  gf  .its  tone,  its  total  rejection  of  all  pre- 


A.  D.  1773-1854.    JEFFREY.    LOCKHAET.  305 

cedent  and  authority,  and  the  audacity  with  which  it  discussed 
questions  previously  held  to  be  "hedged  in"  with  the  "divin- 
ity" of  prescription.  It  was  conducted  from  1802  to  1829  by 
FRANCIS  JEFFREY  (1773-1850),  a  Scotch  advocate,  who  was  sub- 
sequently raised  to  the  bench.  (333)  He  wrote  a  large  number 
of  critical  articles,  marked  by  good  taste  and  discrimination,  the 
most  important  of  which  were  republished  by  him  in  a  collected 
form  in  1844.  Another  of  the  most  impoitant  of  the  early  con- 
tributors to  the  Review,  and  who  indeed  edited  the  first  number, 
was  SYDNEY  SMITH  (1771-1845),  an  English  clergyman,  and  in 
the  later  period  of  his  life  Canon  of  St.  Paul's.  (331,  332) 
He  wrote  chieflv  upon  political  and  practical  questions  with  a 
richness  of  comic  humor,  and  an  irresistible  dry  sarcasm,  which 
is  not  only  exquisitely  amusing,  but  is  full  of  solid  truth  as  well 
as  pleasantry. 

526.  To  counteract  the  danger  of  those  liberal  opinions  which 
were  fiercely  advocated  by  the  Edinburgh,  the  late  Mr.  Murray 
in  1809  started  a  new  periodical,  called  The  Quarterly  Review, 
which  was  warmly  welcomed  by  the  friends  of  the  Government, 
and  immediately  obtained  a  literary  reputation  at  least  equal  to 
that  of  the  earlier  periodical.     The  editorship  of  it  was  intrusted 
to  WILLIAM   GIFFORD    (1757-1826),    the   translator  of  Juvenal 
(1802),  and  the  author  of  the  Baviad  (1794)  and  Mceviad  (1795), 
t\vo  of  the  most  bitter,  powerful,  and  resistless  literary  satires 
which  modern  days  have  produced.     Gifford  was  a  self-taught 
man,  who   had  raised  himself,  by  dint  of  almost  superhuman 
exertions  and  admirable  integrity,  to  a  high  place  among  the 
literary  men  of  his  age. 

527.  Gifford  was  succeeded  in  the  editorship  of  the  Quarterly, 
after  a  short  interregnum,  by  JOHN  GIBSON  LOCKHART  (1794- 
r854)j  (310)  a  man  of  undoubted  genius,  the  author  of  several 
novels,  which  have  been  already  mentioned,  and  one  of  the  earli- 
est and  ablest  contributors  to  Black-food's  Magazine.    Many  of 
the  best  articles  in  the  Quarterly  were  written  by  himself;  and 
those  which  combine  the  biography  and  criticism  of  distinguished 
authors  are  unsurpassed  by  anything  of  the  kind  in  the  English 
language.     In  1820  he  married  the  eldest  daughter  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  and  in  1837-39  ne  published  the  charming  Life  of  his  fa- 
ther-in-law.    In  biography  he  was  unrivalled;  and  his  Life  of 
Napoleon,  which  appeared  without  his  name,  is  far  superior  to 
many  more  ambitious  performances. 

20 


306  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.     CHAP.  XXVII. 

528.  Blackivood.^  Magazine  first  appeared  in  1817,  and  was 
distinguished  by  the  ability  of  its  purely  literary  articles,  as  well 
as  by  the  violence  of  its  political  sentiments.     Among  the  many 
able  men  who  wrote  for  it,  one  of  the  most  eminent  was  JOHN 
WILSON  (1785-1854),  born  in  Paisley,  May  18,  1785,  the  son  of 
a  wealthy  merchant.     After  studying  at  Oxford,  he  took  up  his 
abode  on  the  banks  of  the  Windermere,  attracted  thither  by  the 
society  of  Wordsworth,  Southey,  and  Coleridge.     Wilson  was 
an  ardent  admirer  of  Wordsworth,  whose  style  he  adopted,  to 
some  extent,  in  his  own  poems,  the  Isle  of  Palms  (1812),  and  The 
City  after  the  Plague  (1816).     The  year  before  the  publication 
of  the  latter  poem  Wilson  had  been  compelled,  by  the  loss  of  his 
fortune,  to  remove  to  Edinburgh,  and  to  adopt  literature  as  a  pro- 
fession.   Though  Mr.  Blackwood  was  the  editor  of  his  own  mag- 
azine, Wilson  was  the  presiding  spirit,  and  under  the  name  of 
Christopher  North  and  other  pseudonymes  he  poured  forth  article 
after  article  with  exuberant  fertility.     His  Nodes  Ambrosiance, 
in  which  politics,  literary  criticism,  and  fun  were  intermingled, 
enjoyed  extraordinary  popularity.     In  1820  he  was  elected  Pro- 
fessor, of  Moral  Philosophy  at  Edinburgh. 

529.  It  would  be  impossible  in  our  limits  to  give  an  account  of 
the  many  other  writers  who  distinguished  themselves  by  their 
contributions  to  the  Reviews  and  Magazines  :  but  in  addition  to 
those  already  mentioned  two  essayists  stand  forth  pre-eminent 
—  Charles  Lamb  and  Thomas  De  Quincey. 

530.  CHARLES  LAMB  (1775-1834)  (334:,   335}  was  born  in 
the  Temple,  where  his  father  was  clerk  to  one  of  the  Benchers, 
and  was  educated  at  Christ's  Hospital.     He  was  essentially  a 
Londoner  :  London  life  supplied  him  with  his  richest  materials  ; 
and  yet  his  mind  was  so  imbued,  so  saturated  with  our  older 
writers,  that  he  is  original  by  the  mere  force  of  self-transforma- 
tion into  the  spirit  of  the  older  literature ;  he  was,  in  short,  an 
old  writer,  who  lived  by  accident  a  century  or  two  after  his  real 
time.     During  the  early  and  greater  part  of  his  life,  Lamb,  poor 
and  unfriended,  was  drudging  as  a  clerk  in  the  India  House; 
and  it  was  not  until  late  in  life  that  he  was  unchained  from  the 
desk.     In  his  earliest  compositions,  such  as  the  drama  of  John 

Woodvil,  and  subsequently  in  the  Essays  of  Elia,  although  the 
world  at  first  perceived  a  mere  imitation  of  the  quaintness  of 
expression  of  the  old  writers,  there  was  in  reality  a  revival  of 
their  very  spirit.  The  Essays  of  Elia,  contributed  by  him  at 


A.  D.  1775-1859.    LAMB.    DEQUINCET.  307 

different  times  to  the  London  Magazine,  are  the  finest  thing's 
for  humor,  taste,  penetration,  and  vivacity,  which  have  ap- 
peared since  the  days  of  Montaigne.  Where  shall  we  find 
such  intense  delicacy  of  feeling,  such  unimaginable  happiness 
of  expression,  such  a  searching  into  the  very  body  of  truth,  as 
in  these  unpretending  compositions?  The  style  has  a  peculiar 
and  most  subtle  charm ;  not  the  result  of  labor,  for  it  is  found 
in  as  great  perfection  in  his  familiar  letters  —  a  certain  quaint- 
ness  and  antiquity,  not  affected  in  Lamb,  but  the  natural  garb 
of  his  thoughts.  As  in  all  the  true  humorists,  his  pleasantry 
was  inseparably  allied  with  the  finest  pathos  ;  the  merry  quip  on 
the  tongue  was  but  the  commentary  on  the  tear  which  trembled 
in  the  eye.  The  inspiration  that  other  poets  find  in  the  moun- 
tains, in  the  forest,  in  the  sea,  Lamb  could  draw  from  the  crowd 
of  Fleet-street,  from  the  remembrances  of  an  old  actor,  from  the 
benchers  of  the  Temple. 

531.  Lamb  was   the   schoolfellow,  the  devoted   admirer  and 
friend  of  Coleridge;  and  perhaps  there  never  was  an  individual 
so  loved  by  all  his  contemporaries,  by  men  of  every  opinion,  of 
every  shade  of  literary,  political,  and  religious  sentiment,  as  this 
great  wit  and  amiable  man.     His  Specimens  of  the  Old  English 
Dramatists  showed  what  treasures  of  the  richest  poetry  lay  con- 
cealed in  the  unpublished,  and  in  modern   times  unknown,  wri- 
ters of  that  wonderful  age,  whose  fame  had  been  eclipsed  by  the 
glory  of  some  two  or  three  names  of  the  same  period.     Indeed, 
Lamb's   mind,   in  its  sensitiveness,  in  its  mixture  of  wit  and 
pathos,  was  eminently  Shakspearian  ;  and  his  intense  and  rev- 
erent study  of  the   works  of  Shakspeare  doubtless  gave  a  ten- 
dency to  this :  the  glow  of  his  humor  was  too  pure  and  steady 
not  to  have  been  reflected  from  the  sun.     In  his  poems,  as,  for 
instance,  the  Fare-well  to  Tobacco,  the  Old  Familiar  Faces,  and 
his  few  but  beautiful  sonnets,  we  find  the  very  essence  and  spirit 
of  this  quaint  tenderness  of  fancy,  the  simplicity  of  the  child 
mingled  with  the  learning  of  the  scholar. 

532.  One  of  the  greatest  masters  of  English   prose   in   the 
present  century  is  THOMAS  DE  QUINCEY  (1785-1859).     He  was 
born  of  wealthy  parents  near  Manchester;    and  after  leaving 
Oxford  he  settled  at  Grasmere,  but  resided  during  the  latter  part 
of  his  life  at  Glasgow  and  Edinburgh. 

533.  The  best  known  of  De  Quincey's  writings  is  the  Confes- 
sions of  an  English  Opium-Eater,  published  in  1821,  {320,  330) 


808  ENGLISH  LITERATURE.      CHAP.  XXVII. 

in  which  the  language  frequently  soars  to  astonishing  heights 
of  eloquence.  Of  his  historical  essays  and  narratives,  the  finest 
is  his  Flight  of  the  Kalmuck  Tartars,  which  is  equal,  in  many 
passages,  to  the  English  Opium-Eater.  Some  of  his  essays  are 
almost  exclusively  humorous,  among  which  Mulder  considered  as 
one  of  the  Fine  Arts  is  the  best  known.  An  able  critic  thus  sums 
up  De  Quincey's  literary  merits  :  —  "A  great  master  of  English 
composition ;  a  critic  of  uncommon  delicacy ;  an  honest  and 
unflinching  investigator  of  received  opinions;  a  philosophic 
inquirer,  second  only  to  his  first  and  sole  hero  (Coleridge),  De 
Quincey  has  left  no  successor  to  his  rank.  The  exquisite  finish 
of  his  style,  with  the  scholastic  rigor  of  his  logic,  form  a  com- 
bination which  centuries  may  never  reproduce,  but  which  every 
generation  should  study  as  one  of  the  marvels  of  English 
literature." 

534.  One  of  the  studies  peculiar  to  the  present  century  has 
been  that  of  political  economy.  RICARDO,  SENIOR,  MACULLOCH, 
and  MILL,  are  writers  whose  place  in  a  history  of  literature 
would  perhaps  be  small,  but  whose  influence  on  politics  and 
commerce  have  been  so  great,  that  it  would  be  a  serious  omis- 
sion not  to  call  the  attention  of  the  student  to  their  works.  The 
most  important  writer  upon  ethics,  jurisprudence,  and  political 
economy,  is  undoubtedly  JEREMY  BENTHAM  (1748-1832).  He 
was  the  son  of  a  solicitor  in  London,  was  educated  at  Oxford, 
and  called  to  the  bar,  but  did  not  pursue  it  as  a  profession.  For 
half  a  century  Bentham  was  the  centre  of  a  small  but  influential 
circle  of  philosophical  writers,  and  was  the  founder  of  what  is 
called  the  Utilitarian  school.  It  is,  however,  on  his  writings  on 
jurisprudence  that  his  fame  chiefly  rests ;  and  almost  all  the 
improvements  in  English  law  that  have  since  been  carried  into 
effect  may  be  traced,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  to  his  exer- 
tions. (344,  345) 


LIST  OF  POETS   LAUREATE. 


Edmund  Spenser 1591-1599 

Samuel  Daniel 1599-1619 

Ben  Jonson          1619-1637 

(Interregnum) 

William  Davenant,  Knight      ....  1660-1668 

*John  Dryden 1670-1689 

Thomas  Shadwell 1689-1692 

Nahum  Tate        1692-1715 

Nicholas  Rowe 1715-1718 

f  Lawrence  Eusden,  Clerk     .....  1718-1730 

Colley  Gibber I73°~1757 

William  Whitehead 1757-1785 

Thomas  Warton,  Clerk 1785-1790 

J  Henry  James  Pye 1790-1813 

Robert  Southey 1813-1843 

William  Wordsworth 1843-1850 

Alfred  Tennyson 1850- 

*  Though  Dryden  did  not  receive  his  letters-patent  until  the  year  1670,  he  nevertheless  was  paid 
the  salary  for  the  two  preceding  years. 

t  For  Eusden  see  '  Dunciad,'  book  i.  line  63;  and  for  Colley  Cibber,  see  same  work  paxsim. 

$  "  Better  to  err  with  Pope  than  shine  with  Pye,"  says  Lord  Byron,  in  his  '  Hints  from  Hor- 
ace.' And  again  in  the  '  Vision  of  Judgment,'  the  game  poet  represents  the  ghost  oi  King  George" 
as  exclaiming,  on  hearing  Southey 's  recitation  of  his  '  Vision '  — 

"What,  what! 
Pye  come  again?  no  more  —  no  more  of  that!  " 

It  is  by  these  notices  alone  that  poor  Pye  still  hangs  on  the  human  memory. 

(309) 


SKETCH  OF  AMERICAN  LITERATURE. 


NOTE.    A  volume  of  Choice  Specimens  of  American  Literature  is  now  in  preparation,  and  ref- 
erences to  it  will  be  inserted  throughout  this  sketch  as  soon  as  the  book  is  issued. 


CHAPTER     I. 

Literature  in  the  Colonies  imitative.  Relation  of  American  to  English  Literature. 
Gradual  Advancement  of  the  United  States  in  Letters.  Their  first  Development 
theological.  Writers  in  this  Department.  JONATHAN  EDWARDS.  Religious 
Controversy.  WILLIAM  E.  CHANNING.  Writings  of  the  Clergy.  Newspapers 
and  School  Books.  Domestic  Literature.  Female  Writers.  Oratory.  Revolu- 
tionary Eloquence.  American  Orators.  ALEXANDER  HAMILTON.  DANIEL  WEB- 
STER and  others.  EDWARD  EVERETT.  American  History  and  Historians.  JARED 
SPARKS.  DAVID  RAMSAY.  GEORGE  BANCROFT.  HILDRETH.  ELIOT.  LOSSING. 
WILLIAM  H.  PRESCOTT.  IRVING.  WHEATON.  COOPER.  PARKMAN. 

535.  LITERATURE  is  a  positive  element  of  civilized  life;  but 
in  different  countries  and  epochs  it  exists  sometimes  as  a  pas- 
sive taste  or  means  of  culture,  and  at  others  as  a  development 
of  productive  tendencies.  The  first  is  the  usual  form  in  colo- 
nial societies,  where  the  habit  of  looking  to  the  fatherland  for 
intellectual  nutriment  as  well  as  political  authority  is  the  nat- 
ural result  even  of  patriotic  feeling.  In  academic  culture,  habit- 
ual reading,  moral  and  domestic  tastes,  and  cast  of  mind,  the 
Americans  were  identified  with  the  mother  country,  and,  in  all 
essential  particulars,  would  naturally  follow  the  style  thus  inhe- 
rent in  their  natures  and  confirmed  by  habit  and  study.  At  first, 
therefore,  the  literary  development  of  the  United  States  was 
imitative;  but  with  the  progress  of  the  country,  and  her  in- 
creased leisure  and  means  of  education,  the  writings  of  the  peo- 
ple became  more  and  more  characteristic;  theological  and  polit- 
ical occasions  gradually  ceased  to  be  the  exclusive  moulds  of 

(311) 


312  A   SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  I. 

thought;  and  didactic,  romantic,  and  picturesque  compositions 
appeared  from  time  to  time.  Irving  peopled  "  Sleepy  Hollow" 
•with  fanciful  creations  ;  Bryant  described  not  only  with  truth  and 
grace,  but  with  devotional  sentiment,  the  characteristic  scenes  of 
his  native  land;  Cooper  introduced  Europeans  to  the  wonders 
of  her  forest  and  sea-coast;  Bancroft  made  her  story  eloquent; 
and  Webster  proved  that  the  race  of  orators  who  once  roused 
her  children  to  freedom  was  not  extinct.  The  names  of  Edwards 
and  Franklin  were  echoed  abroad ;  the  bonds  of  mental  depen- 
dence were  gradually  loosened ;  the  inherited  tastes  remained, 
but  they  were  freshened  with  a  more  native  zest;  and  although 
Brockden  Brown  is  still  compared  to  Godwin,  Irving  to  Addison, 
Cooper  to  Scott,  Hoffman  to  Moore,  Emerson  to  Carlyle,  and 
Holmes  to  Pope,  a  characteristic  vein,  an  individuality  of  thought, 
and  a  local  significance  are  now  generally  recognized  in  the  ema- 
nations of  the  American  mind;  and  the  best  of  them  rank  fa- 
vorably and  harmoniously  with  similar  exemplars  in  British 
literature ;  while,  in  a  few  instances,  the  nationality  is  so  marked, 
and  so  sanctioned  by  true  genius,  as  to  challenge  the  recogni- 
tion of  all  impartial  and  able  critics. 

536.  The  intellect  of  the  country  first  developed  in  a  theologi- 
cal form.  This  was  a  natural  consequence  of  emigration,  in- 
duced by  difference  of  religious  opinion,  the  free  scope  which  the 
new  colonies  afforded  for  discussion,  and  the  variety  of  creeds 
represented  by  the  different  races  who  thus  met  on  a  common 
soil,  including  every  diversity  of  sentiment,  from  Puritanism  to 
Episcopacy,  each  extreme  modified  by  shades  of  doctrine  and 
individual  speculation.  The  clergy,  also,  were  the  best  educated 
and  most  influential  class :  in  political  and  social  as  well  as 
religious  affairs,  their  voice  had  a  controlling  power;  and,  for 
a  considerable  period,  they  alone  enjoyed  that  frequent  immu- 
nity from  physical  labor  which  is  requisite  to  mental  productive- 
ness. The  colonial  era,  therefore,  boasted  only  a  theological 
literature,  for  the  most  part  fugitive  and  controversial,  yet 
sometimes  taking  a  more  permanent  shape,  as  in  the  Biblical 
Concordance  of  Newman,  and  some  of  the  writings  of  Roger 
Williams,  Increase  and  Cotton  Mather,  Mayhew,  Cooper,  Stiles, 
Dwight,  Elliot,  Johnson,  Chauncey,  Witherspoon,  and  Hopkins. 
There  is  no  want  of  learning  or  reasoning  power  in  many  of  the 
tracts  of  those  once  formidable  disputants;  and  such  reading 
accorded  with  the  stern  tastes  of  our  ancestors ;  but,  as  a  gen- 


CHAP.  I.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  313 

eral  rule,  the  specimens  which  yet  remain  in  print  are  now  only 
referred  to  by  the  curious  student  of  divinity  or  the  antiquarian. 
The  celebrated  Treatise  on  the  Will,  by  Dr.  Edwards,  an  endur- 
ing relic  of  this  epoch,  survives,  and,  in  its  sagacious  hardihood 
of  thought,  forms  a  characteristic  introduction  to  the  literary 
history  of  New  England. 

.  537.  Jonathan  Edwards  (Specimens  of  American ,  Litera- 
ture )  was  the  only  son  of  a  Connecticut  minister  of  good  ac- 
quirements and  sincere  piety.  He  was  born  in  1703,  in  the 
town  of  Windsor;  he  entered  Yale  College  at  the  age  of  thirteen, 
and  at  nineteen  became  a  settled  preacher  in  New  York.  In 
1723  he  was  elected  a  tutor  in  the  college  at  New  Haven;  and 
after  discharging  its  duties  with  eminent  success  for  two  years, 
he  became  the  colleague  of  his  grandfather,  in  the  ministry,  at 
the  beautiful  village  of  Northampton,  in  Massachusetts.  Re- 
lieved from  all  material  cares  by  the  affection  of  his  wife,  his 
time  was  entirely  given  to  professional  occupations  and  study. 
An  ancient  elm  is  yet  designated  in  the  town  where  he  passed 
so  many  years,  in  the  crotch  of  which  was  his  favorite  seat, 
where  he  was  accustomed  to  read  and  think  for  hours  together. 
His  sermons  began  to  attract  attention,  and  several  were  repub- 
lished  in  England.  As  a  writer,  he  first  gained  celebrity  by  a 
treatise  on  Original  Sin.  He  was  inaugurated  President  of 
Princeton  College,  N.  J.,  on  the  i6th  of  February,  1757;  and  on 
the  22d  of  the  ensuing  March  died  of  smallpox,  which  then 
ravaged  the  vicinity. 

538.  "  This  remarkable  man,"  says  Sir  James  Mackintosh, 
"  the  metaphysician  of  America,  was  formed  among  the  Calvin- 
ists  of  New  England,  when  their  stern  doctrine  retained  its 
vigorous  authority.  His  power  of  subtile  argument,  perhaps  un- 
matched, certainly  unsurpassed  among  men,  was  joined,  as  in 
some  of  the  ancient  mystics,  with  a  character  which  raised  his 
piety  to  fervor.  He  embraced  their  doctrine,  probably  without 
knowing  it  to  be  theirs.  Had  he  suffered  this  noble  principle  to 
take  the  right  road  to  all  its  fair  consequences,  he  would  have 
entirely  concurred  with  Plato,  with  Shaftesbury  and  Male- 
branche,  in  devotion  to  '  the  first  good,  first  perfect,  and  first 
fair.'  But  he  thought  it  necessary  afterwards  to  limit  his  doc- 
trine to  his  own  persuasion,  by  denying  that  such  moral  ex- 
cellence could  be  discovered  in  divine  things  by  those  Chris- 


314  A   SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  I. 

tians   who    did    not    take    the  same  view  with    him    of   their 
religion."  * 

539.  Although  so  meagre  a  result,  as  far  as  regards  permanent 
literature,  sprang  from  the  early  theological  writings  in  America, 
they  had  a  certain  strength  and  earnestness  which  tended  to 
invigorate  and  exercise  the  minds  of  the  people ;  sometimes, 
indeed,  conducive  to  bigotry,  but  often  inciting  reflective  habits. 
The  mental  life  of  the  colonists  seemed,  for  a  long  time,  iden- 
tical with  religious  discussion ;  and  the  names  of  Anne  Hutch- 
inson,  Roger  Williams,  George  Fox,  Whitefield,  the  early 
field-preacher,  and  subsequently  those  of  Dr.  Hopkins,  and 
Murray,  the  father  of  Universalism  in  America,  were  rallying 
words  for  logical  warfare ;  the  struggle  between  the  advocates  of 
Quakerism,  baptism  by  immersion,  and  others  of  the  minority 
against  those  of  the  old  Presbyterian  and  Church  of  England 
doctrine,  gave  birth  to  a  multitude  of  tracts,  sermons,  and  oral 
debates  which  elicited  no  little  acumen,  rhetoric,  and  learning. 
The  originality  and  productiveness  of  the  American  mind  in 
this  department  have,  indeed,  always  been  characteristic  features 
in  its  development.  Scholars  and  orators  of  distinguished 
ability  have  never  been  wanting  to  the  clerical  profession  among 
us ;  and  every  sect  in  the  land  has  its  illustrious  interpreters, 
who  have  bequeathed,  or  still  contribute,  written  memorials  of 
their  ability.  Davies,  Bellamy,  Robinson,  Stuart,  Tappan, 
Williams,  Bishop  White,  Dr.  Jarvis,  Dr.  Hawks,  Hooker, 
Cheever,  and  others,  have  materially  adorned  the  literature  of 
the  church;  the  diversity  of  sects  is  one  of  the  most  curious  and 
striking  facts  in  our  social  history,  and  is  fully  illustrated  by  the 
literary  organs  of  each  denomination,  from  the  spiritual  com- 
mentaries of  Bush  to  the  ardent  Catholicism  of  Brownson.f  (  ) 
About  the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  a  memorable 
conflict  took  place  between  the  liberal  and  orthodox  party;  and 
among  the  writings  of  the  former  may  be  found  more  finished 
specimens  of  composition  than  had  previously  appeared  on 
ethics  and  religion.  Independent  of  their  opinions,  the  high 

*  Progress  of  Ethical  Philosophy. 

t  The  clergy  have  been  among  the  prominent  laborers  in  the  field  of  useful  literature.  Tho 
names  of  Denim,  Payson,  Potter,  Abbott,  Beddl,  Kuox,  Todd,  Woods,  Spraguc,  Baird,  Barnes, 
Alexander,  Tyng,  Bacon,  Stuart,  Bushnell,  Beecher,  Coxe,  Croswell,  Hudson,  Slielton,  Spencer, 
of  the  Orthodox  and  the  Episcopal  denominations,  and  of  Buckminster,  William  and  Henry 
Ware,  Dewey,  Whitman,  Osgood,  Greenwood,  Frothingham,  Brooks,  Furness,  Hedge,  Clarke, 
Hale,  W.  II.  Channing,  Pcabody,  Stetson,  and  many  others  of  the  Unitarian,  are  identified  with 
current  educational  and  religious  literature. 


CHAP.  I.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  315 

morality  and  beautiful  sentiment,  as  well  as  chaste  and  graceful 
diction,  of  the  leaders  of  that  school,  gave  a  literary  value  and 
interest  to  pulpit  eloquence  which  soon  exercised  a  marked  in- 
fluence on  the  literary  taste  of  the  community.  Religious  and 
moral  writings  now  derived  from  style  a  new  interest.  At  the 
head  of  this  class,  who  achieved  a  world-wide  reputation  for 
genius  in  ethical  literature,  is  William  Ellery  Channing.  (  ) 

540.  "  Half  a  century  ago,  there  might  have  been  seen,  thread- 
ing the  streets  of  Richmond,  Va.,  a  diminutive  figure,  with  a 
pale,  attenuated  face,  eyes  of  spiritual  brightness,  an  expansive 
and  calm  brow,  and  movements  of  nervous  alacrity.    The  youth 
was  one  of  those  children  of  New  England,  braced  by  her  dis- 
cipline, and  early  sent  forth  to  earn  a  position  in  the  world  by 
force  of  character  and  activity  of  intellect.     The  teachings  of 
Harvard  had  yielded  him  the  requisite  attainments  to  discharge 
the  office  of  private  tutor  in  a  wealthy  Virginian  family.    There, 
far  from   the  companions  of  his  studies  and  the  home  of  his 
childhood,  through  secret  conflicts,  devoted  application  to  books 
and    meditation,   amid    privations,   comparative    isolation,    and 
premature  responsibility,   he  resolved  to  consecrate  himself  to 
the   Christian  ministry.     Thence  he  went  to  Boston,   and  for 
more  than  forty  years  pursued  the  consistent  tenor  of  his  way 
as  an  eloquent  divine  and  powerful  writer,   achieving  a  wide 
renown,  bequeathing  a  venerated  memory,  and  a  series  of  dis- 
courses, reviews,  and  essays,  which,  with  remarkable  perspicu- 
ity and  earnestness,  vindicate  the  cause  of  freedom,  the  original 
endowments  and  eternal  destiny  of  human  nature,  the  sanctions 
of  religion,  and  '  the  ways  of  God  to  man.'     He  died,  one  beau- 
tiful October  evening,  at  Bennington,  Vermont,  while  on  a  sum- 
mer excursion,  and  was  buried  at  Mount  Auburn.    A  monument 
commemorates  the  gratitude  of  his  parishioners  and  the  exalted 
estimation   he   had   acquired   in  the  world.     A  biography  pre- 
pared by  his  nephew  recounts  the  few  incidents  of  his  career, 
and  gracefully  unfolds  the  process  of  his  growth  and  mental 
history. 

541.  "  It  is  seldom  that  ethical  writings  interest  the  multitude. 
The  abstract  nature  of  the  topics  they  discuss,  and  the  formal 
style  in  which  they  are  usually  embodied,  are  equally  destitute 
of  that  popular  charm  that  wins  the  common  heart.     A  remark- 
able exception  is  presented  in  the  literary  remains  of  Channing. 
The  simple  yet  comprehensive  ideas  upon  which  he  dwells,  the 


816  A   SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  I. 

tranquil  gravity  of  his  utterance,  and  the  winning  clearness  of 
his  style,  render  many  of  his  productions  universally  attractive 
as  examples  of  quiet  and  persuasive  eloquence.  And  this  icsult 
is  entirely  independent  of  any  sympathy  with  his  theological 
opinions,  or  experience  of  his  pulpit  oratory.  Indeed,  the  genu- 
ine interest  of  Dr.  Channing's  writings  is  ethical.  As  the  cham- 
pion of  a  sect,  his  labors  have  but  a  temporary  value ;  as  the 
exponent  of  a  doctrinal  system,  he  will  not  long  be  remembered 
with  gratitude,  because  the  world  is  daily  better  appreciating  the 
religious  sentiment  as  of  infinitely  more  value  than  any  dogma; 
but  as  a  moral  essayist,  some  of  the  more  finished  writings  of 
Channing  will  have  a  permanent  hold  upon  reflective  and  taste- 
ful minds." 

542.  Of  all  the  foreign  commentators  on  our  political  insti- 
tutions and  national  character,  De  Tocqueville  is  the  most  dis- 
tinguished for  philosophical  insight;  and  although  many  of  his 
speculations  are  visionary,  not  a  few  are  pregnant  with  reflective 
wisdom.  He  says  in  regard  to  the  literary  development  of  such 
a  republic  as  our  own,  that  its  early  fruits  "  will  bear  marks  of  an 
untutored  and  rude  vigor  of  thought,  frequently  of  great  variety 
and  singular  fecundity."  What  may  be  termed  the  casual  writ- 
ing and  speaking  of  the  country,  confirms  this  prophecy.  The 
two  most  prolific  branches  of  literature  in  America  are  joiu- 
nalism  and  educational  works.  The  aim  in  both  is  to  supply 
that  immediate  demand  which,  according  to  the  French  philos- 
opher, is  more  imperative  and  prevailing  than  in  monarchical 
lands.  Newspapers  and  school-books  are,  therefore,  the  char- 
acteristic form  of  literature  in  the  United  States.  The  greatest 
scholars  of  the  country  have  not  deemed  the  production  of  the 
latter  an  unworthy  labor,  nor  the  most  active,  enterprising,  and 
ambitious  failed  to  exercise  their  best  powers  in  the  former  sphere. 
An  intelligent  foreigner,  therefore,  who  observed  the  predomi- 
nence  of  these  two  departments,  would  arrive  at  the  just  conclu- 
sion, that  the  great  mental  distinction  of  the  nation  is  twofold  — 
the  universality  of  education  and  a  general,  though  superficial  in- 
tellectual activity  in  the  mass  of  the  people.  There  is,  however, 
still  another  phase  of  our  literary  condition  equally  significant; 
and  that  is  the  popularity  of  what  may  be  termed  domestic  read- 
ing—  a  species  of  books  intended  for  the  family,  and  designed  to 
teach  science,  religion,  morality,  the  love  of  nature,  and  other 
desirable  acquisitions.  These  works  range  from  a  juvenile  to  a 


CHAP.  I.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  317 

mature  scope  and  interest,  both  in  form  and  spirit,  but  are 
equally  free  of  all  extravagance,  —  except  it  be  purely  imagi- 
native,—  and  are  unexceptionable,  often  elevated,  in  moral 
tone.  They  constitute  the  literature  of' the  fireside,  and  give  to 
the  young  their  primary  ideas  of  the  world  and  of  life.  Hence 
their  moral  importance  can  scarcely  be  overrated.  Accordingly, 
children's  books  have  not  been  thought  unworthy  the  care  of  the 
best  minds;  philosophers  like  Guizot,  poets  like  Hans  Andersen, 
popular  novelists  like  Scott  and  Dickens,  have  not  scorned  this 
apparently  humble  but  most  influential  service.  The  reform  in 
books  for  the  young  was  commenced  in  England  by  Maria  Edge- 
worth  and  Mrs.  Barbauld,  when  the  Parents'  Assistant  and 
Original  Poems  for  Infant  Minds  superseded  Mother  Goose  and 
Jack  the  Giant-Killer ;  and  with  the  instinct  of  domestic  util- 
ity so  prevalent  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  this  impulse  was 
caught  up  and  prolonged  here,  and  resulted  in  a  class  of  books 
and  writers,  not  marked  by  high  genius  o*r  striking  originality, 
yet  honorable  to  the  good  sense  and  moral  feeling  of  the  coun- 
try. These  have  supplied  the  countless  homes  scattered  over 
the  western  continent  with  innocent,  instructive,  and  often  re- 
fined reading,  sometimes  instinct  not  only  with  a  domestic  but  a 
national  spirit;  often  abounding  with  the  most  fresh  and  true 
pictures  of  scenery,  customs,  and  local  traits,  and  usually  con- 
ceived in  a  tone  of  gentleness  and  purity  fitted  to  chasten  and 
improve  the  taste.  These  writers  have  usually  adapted  them- 
selves equally  to  the  youngest  and  to  the  most  advanced  of  the 
family  circle  —  extended  their  labor  of  love  from  the  child's 
story-book  to  the  domestic  novel.* 

543.  Oratory  is  eminently  the  literature  of  republics.  Political 
freedom  gives  both  occasion  and  impulse  to  thought  on  public 
interests ;  and  -its  expression  is  a  requisite  accomplishment  to 
every  intelligent  and  patriotic  citizen.  American  eloquence, 
although  not  unknown  in  the  professional  spheres  of  colonial 

*  It  is  creditable  to  the  sex  that  this  sphere  has  been  filled,  in  our  country,  chiefly  by  female 
•writers,  the  list  of  whom  includes  a  long  array  of  endeared  and  honored  names,  at  the  head  of 
which  stands  Hannah  Adams,  with  her  once  popular  histories,  Catharine  M.  Scdgwick,  with  her 
moral  and  graphic  illustrations  of  New  England  life,  and  Lydia  M.  Child,  with  her  poetic  and 
generous  suggestiveness.  Among  others  may  be  mentioned  Mrs.  L3*dia  H.  Sigourney,  Miss 
Leslie,  sister  of  the  artist,  Eliza  Robbins,  Mrs.  Gilman,  of  Charleston,  S.  C.,  Mrs.  Lee,  of  Bos- 
ton, Mrs.  E.  Oakes  Smith,  Miss  Beecher,  Mrs.  Kirkland,  Mrs.  Ellett,  Mrs.  Stowe,  Miss  Prescott, 
Miss  Coles,  Julia  Ward  Howe,  Mrs.  S.  J.  Hale,  and  such  noms  de  plume  as  Fanny  Forrester, 
Grace  Greenwood,  and  Gail  Hamilton ;  also  Mrs.  Embury,  of  Brooklyn,  L.  I.,  Miss  Mclutosk, 
Mrs.  Keal,  Alice  Carey,  Mrs.  Farrar,  Mrs.  Willard,  Mrs.  Hall,  aiid  Mies  WetherelL 


318  A   SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  I. 

life,  developed  with  originality  and  richness  at  the  epoch  of  the 
revolution.  Indeed,  the  questions  that  agitated  the  country  nat- 
urally induced  popular  discussions,  and  as  a  sense  of  wrong  and 
a  resolve  to  maintain  the  rights  of  freemen  took  the  place  of 
remonstrance  and  argument,  a  race  of  orators  seems  to  have 
sprung  to  life,  whose  chief  traits  continue  evident  in  a  long  and 
illustrious  roll  of  names,  identified  with  our  statesmen,  legisla- 
tors, and  divines.  From  the  stripling  Hamilton,  who,  in  July, 
1774,  held  a  vast  concourse  in  breathless  excitement,  in  the 
fields  near  New  York,  while  he  demonstrated  the  right  and 
necessity  of  resistance  to  British  oppression,  to  the  mature  Web- 
ster, who,  in  December,  1829,  defended  the  union  of  the  states 
with  an  argumentative  and  rhetorical  power  ever  memorable  in 
the  annals  of  legislation,  there  has  been  a  series  of  remarkable 
public  speakers  who  have  nobly  illustrated  this  branch  of  liter- 
ture  in  the  United  States.  The  fame  of  American  eloquence  is 
in  part  traditionary.  'Warren,  Adams,  and  Otis  in  Boston,  and 
Patrick  Henry  in  Virginia,  by  their  spirit-stirring  appeals,  roused 
the  land  to  the  assertion  and  defence  of  its  just  rights;  and 
Alexander  Hamilton,  Gouverneur  Morris,  Pinckney,  Jay,  Rut- 
ledge,  and  other  firm  and  gifted  men  gave  wise  and  effective 
direction  to  the  power  thus  evoked,  by  their  logical  and  earnest 
appeals. 

544.  Foremost  among  these  remarkable  men  was  Alexander 
Hamilton  ;  (  )  by  birth  a  West  Indian,  by  descent  uniting  the 
Scotch  vigor  and  sagacity  of  character  with  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  French.  While  a  collegian  in  New  York,  his  talents, 
at  once  versatile  and  brilliant,  were  apparent  in  the  insight  and 
poetry  of  his  debates,  the  solemn  beauty  of  his  devotion,  the 
serious  argument  of  his  ambitious  labors,  and  the  readiness  of 
his  humorous  sallies;  with  genuine  religious  sentiment,  born 
perhaps  of  his  Huguenot  blood,  he  united  a  zest  for  pleasure,  a 
mercurial  temperament,  and  grave  aspirations.  In  his  first 
youth  the  gentleman,  the  pietist,  the  hero,  and  the  statesman 
alternately  exhibited,  sometimes  dazzled,  at  others  impressed, 
and  always  won  the  hearts  of  his  comrades.  His  first  public 
demonstration  was  as  an  orator,  when  but  seventeen ;  and  not- 
withstanding his  slender  figure  and  extreme  youth,  he  took 
captive  both  the  reason  and  feeling  of  a  popular  assembly. 
Shortly  after  he  became  involved  in  the  controversy  then  raging 
between  Whigs  and  Tories ;  and  his  pamphlets  and  newspaper 


CHAP.  I.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  319 

essavs  were  read  with  mingled  admiration  and  incredulity  at  the 
rare  powers  of  expression  and  mature  judgment  thus  displayed 
by  the  juvenile  antagonist  of  bishops  and  statesmen. 

545.  The  idol  of  the  Federal  party,  and  a  candidate  for  the 
chief  magistracy,  he  became  entangled  in  a  duel  planned  by 
political  animosity,  and  fell  at  Weehawken,  opposite  the  city  of 
New  York,  by  the  hand  of  Aaron  Burr,  on  the  nth  of  July, 
1804.  The  impression  caused  by  his  untimely  death  was  unpre- 
cedented in  this  country;  for  no  public  man  ever  stood  forth 
';  so  clear  in  his  great  office,"  more  essentially  useful  in  affairs, 
courageous  in  battle,  loyal  in  attachment,  gifted  in  mind,  or 
graceful  in  manner.  During  a  life  of  varied  and  absorbing 
occupation,  he  found  time  to  put  on  record  his  principles  as  a 
statesman  :  not  always  highly  finished,  his  writings  are  full  of 
sense  and  energy;  their  tone  is  noble,  their  insight  often  deep, 
and  the  wisdom  they  display  remarkable.  His  letters  are  finely 
characteristic,  his  state  papers  valuable,  and  the  Federalist  a 
significant  illustration  both  of  his  genius  and  the  age. 

5-iG.  The  historical  and  literary  anniversaries  of  such  frequent 
occurrence  in  this  country,  and  the  exigencies  of  political  life, 
give  occasion  for  the  exercise  of  oratory  to  educated  citizens  of 
all  professions  —  from  the  statesman  who  fills  the  gaze  of  the 
world,  to  the  village  pastor  and  country  advocate.  Accordingly, 
a  large,  and,  on  the  whole,  remarkably  creditable  body  of  dis- 
courses, emanating  from  the  best  minds  of  the  country,  have 
been  published  in  collected  editions,  to  such  an  extent  as  to  con- 
stitute a  decided  feature  of  American  literature.  They  are 
characteristic  also  as  indicating  the  popular  shape  into  which 
intellectual  labors  naturally  run  in  a  young  and  free  country, 
and  the  fugitive  and  occasional  literary  efforts  which  alone  are 
practicable  for  the  majority  even  of  scholars.  The  most  solid 
of  this  class  of  writings  are  the  productions  of  statesmen ;  and 
of  these,  three  are  conspicuous,  although  singularly  diverse  both 
in  style  and  cast  of  thought  —  Webster,  Calhoun,  and  Clay. 
The  former's  oration  at  Plymouth  in  1820;  his  address  at  the 
laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument,  half  a 
century  after  the  battle;  his  discourse  on  the  deaths  of  Adams 
and  Jefferson,  the  following  year;  and  his  reply  to  Hayne,  in 
the  U.  S.  Senate,  in  1829,  are  memorable  specimens  of  oratory, 
and  recognized  everywhere  as  among  the  greatest  instances  of 
genius  in  this  branch  of  letters  in  modern  times.  These  are, 


320  A  SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  I. 

however,  but  a  very  small  part  of  his  speeches  and  forensic 
arguments,  which  constitute  a  permanent  and  characteristic, 
as  well  as  intrinsically  valuable  and  interesting  portion  of  our 
native  literatitre. 

547.  Daniel  Webster  was  the  son  of  a  New  Hampshire  farm- 
er. (       )     He  was  born  in  1782,  graduated  at  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege, and  began  the  practice  of  law  at  a  village  near  Salisbury, 
his  birthplace,  but  removed  to  Portsmouth  in  1807.     He  soon 
distinguished  himself  at  the  bar,  and  as  a  member  of  the  House 
of   Representatives ;    retired    from  Congress   and   removed    to 
Boston   in  1817;    and   by  his  able  arguments   in   the  Supreme 
Court,  as  well  as  his  unrivalled  eloquence  on  special  occasions, 
was  very  soon   acknowledged   to   be  one  of  the   greatest  men 
America  had  produced.  His  career  as  a  senator,  a  foreign  minister, 
and  secretary  of  state,  was  no  less  illustrious  than  his  profes- 
sional triumphs;  but,  as  far  as  literature  is  concerned,  he  will 
be  remembered  by  his  state  papers  and  speeches.     His  style  is 
remarkable  for  great  clearness  of  statement.     It  is  singularly 
emphatic.      Clearness  of  statement,  vigor  of  reasoning,  and  a 
faculty  of  making  a  question  plain  to  the  understanding  by  the 
mere    terms   in   which   it    is   presented,    are  the    traits   which 
uniformly  distinguish  his  writings,  evident  alike  in  a  diplomatic 
note,  a  legislative  debate,  and  an  historical  discourse.     His  dig- 
nity of   expression,    breadth   of  view,   and    force   of   thought, 
realize  the  ideal  of  a  republican  statesman,  in  regard,  at  least, 
to  natural  endowments ;  and  his  presence  and  manner,   in  the 
prime  of  his  life,  were  analogous. 

548.  In  the   speeches  of  Clay  there  is   a  chivalric  freshness 
which  readily  explains  his  great  popularity  as  a  man ;  not  so 
profound  as  Webster,   he   is  far  more   rhetorical  and   equally 
patriotic.     Calhoun   was   eminently  sophistical,   but  his   mind 
had  that  precise  energy  which  is  so. effectual  in  debate;  his  style 
of  argument  is  concise ;  and  in  personal  aspect  he  was  quite  as 
remarkable  —  the  incarnation  of  intense  purpose  and  keen  per-- 
ception.     These  and  many  other  eminent  men  have  admirably 
illustrated  that  department  of  oratory  which  belongs  to  states- 
men. 

549.  Fisher  Ames,  William  Wirt,  John  Quincy  Adams,  Hugh 
S.  Legare,  and  others,  famed  as  debaters,  have  united  to  this 
distinction  the  renown  of  able  rhetoricians  on  literary  and  his- 
torical occasions ;  and  to  these  we  may  add  the  names  of  Ver- 


CHAP.  I.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  321 

planck,  Chief  Justice  Story,  Chancellor  Kent,  Rufus  Choate, 
Randolph,  Winthrop,  Burgess,  Preston,  Benton,  Prentiss,  Be- 
thune,  Bushnell,  Dewey.  Birney,  Hillhouse,  Sprague,  Wayland, 
A.  H.  Everett,  Horace  Binney,  Dr.  Francis,  Sumner,  Whipple, 
Hillard,  and  other  authors  of  occasional  addresses,  having,  by 
their  scope  of  thoughtvor  beauty  of  style,  a  permanent  literary 
value.  The  most  voluminous  writer  in  this  department,  how- 
ever, is  Edward,  Everett.  (  )  His  volumes  not  only  exhibit 
the  finest  specimens  of  rhetorical  writing,  but  they  truly  represent 
the  cultivated  American  mind  in  literature.  Edward  Everett's 
Orations  are  as  pure  in  style,  as  able  in  statement,  and  as  au- 
thentic as  expressions  of  popular  history,  feeling,  and  opinion 
in  a  finished  and  elegant  shape,  as  were  those  of  Demosthenes 
and  Cicero  in  their  day.  Let  not  the  frequency  of  public  ad- 
dresses, and  the  ephemeral  character  they  so  often  possess,  blind 
our  countrymen  to  the  permanent  and  intrinsic  merits  of  these 
Orations.  They  embody  the  results  of  long  and  faithful  re- 
search into  the  most  important  facts  of  our  history;  they  give 
"a  local  habitation  and  a  name"  to  the  most  patriotic  associa- 
tions ;  their  subjects,  not  less  than  their  sentiments,  are  thor- 
oughly national ;  not  a  page  but  glows  with  the  most  intelligent 
love  of  country,  nor  a  figure,  description,  or  appeal  but  what 
bears  evidence  of  scholarship,  taste,  and  just  sentiment.  The 
great  battles  of  the  revolution,  the  sufferings  and  principles  of 
the  early  colonists,  the  characters  of  our  leading  statesmen,  the 
progress  of  arts,  sciences,  and  education  among  us  —  all  those 
great  interests  which  are  characteristic,  to  the  philosopher,  of  a 
nation's  life  —  are  here  expounded,  now  by  important  facts,  now 
by  eloquent  illustrations,  and  again  in  the  form  of  impressive 
and  graceful  comments.  History,  essays,  descriptive  sketches, 
biographical  data,  picturesque  detail,  and  general  principles, 
are  all  blent_together  with  a  tact,  a  distinctness,  a  felicity  of  ex- 
pression, and  a  unity  of  style  unexampled  in  this  species  of 
writing.  The  old  should  grow  familiar  with  their  pages  to  keep 
alive  the  glow  of  enlightened  patriotism ;  and  the  young  to 
learn  a  wise  love  of  country  and  the  graces  of  refined  scholar- 
ship. 

550.   There  is  no  branch  of  literature  that  can  be  cultivated  in 

a  republic  with  more  advantage  to  the  reader,  and  satisfaction  to 

the  author,  than  History.     Untrammelled  by  proscription,  and 

unawed  by  political  authority,  the  annalist  may  trace  the  events 

21 


322  A   SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  I. 

of  the  past,  and  connect  them,  by  philosophical  analogy,  with 
the  tendencies  of  the  present,  free  to  impart  '.he  glow  of  honest 
conviction  to  his  record,  to  analyze  the  conduct  of  leaders,  the 
tiieory  of  parties,  and  the  significance  of  events.  The  facts, 
too,  of  our  history  are  comparatively  recent.  It  is  not  requisite 
to  conjure  up  fabulous  traditions  or  explore  the  dim  regions  of 
antiquity.  From  her  origin  the  nation  was  civilized.  A  back- 
ward glance  at  the  state  of  Europe,  the  causes  of  emigration, 
and  the  standard  of  political  and  social  advancement  at  the 
epoch  of  the  first  colonies  in  North  America,  is  all  that  w§  need 
to  start  intelligently  upon  the  track  of  our  country's  marvellous 
growth,  and  brief,  though  eventful  career.  There  are  relations, 
however,  both  to  the  past  and  future,  which  render  American 
history  the  most  suggestive  episode  in  the  annals  of  the  world, 
and  give  it  a  universal  as  well  as  special  dignity.  To  those  who 
chiefly  value  facts  as  illustrative  of  principles,  and  see  in  the 
course  of  events  the  grand  problem  of  humanity,  the  occur- 
rences in  the  New  World,  from  its  discovery  to  the  present  hour, 
offer  a  comprehensive  interest  unrecognized  by  those  who  only 
regard  details.  Justly  interpreted,  the  liberty  and  progress  of 
mankind,  illustrated  by  the  history  of  the  United  States,  are  but 
the  practical  demonstration  of  principles  which  the  noblest 
spirits  of  England  advocated  with  their  pens,  and  often  sealed 
with  their  blood.  It  is  through  an  intimate  and  direct  relation 
with  the  past  of  the  Old  World,  and  as  initiative  to  her  ultimate 
self-enfranchisement,  that  our  history  daily  grows  in  value  and 
interest,  unfolds  new  meaning,  and  becomes  endeared  to  all 
thinking  men.  It  is  a  link  between  two  great  cycles  of  human 
progress;  the  ark  that,  floating  safely  on  the  ocean-tide  of  hu- 
manity, preserves  those  elements  of  national  freedom  which  are 
the  vital  hope  of  the  world. 

551.  Glorious,  however,  as  is  the  theme,  it  is  only  within  the 
last  quarter  of  a  century  that  it  has  found  any  adequate  illustra- 
tion. The  labors  of  American  historians  have  been,  for  the 
most  part,  confined  to  the  acquisition  of  materials,  the  unadorned 
record  of  facts ;  their  subjects  have  been  chiefly  local ;  and  in 
very  few  cases  have  their  labors  derived  any  charm  from  the 
graces  of  style,  or  the  resources  of  philosophy ;  they  are  usually 
crude  memoranda  of  events,  not  always  reliable,  though  often 
curious.  In  a  few  instances  care  and  scholarship  render  such 
contributions  to  American  history  intrinsically  valuable;  but, 


CHAP.  I.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  323 

taken  together,  they  are  rather  materials  for  the  annalist  than 
complete  works,  and  as  such  will  prove  of  considerable  value. 
It  is  to  collect  and  preserve  these  and  other  records  that  histor- 
ical societies  have  been  formed  in  so  many  of  the  states.  A  store- 
house of  data  is  thus  formed,  to  which  the  future  historian  can 
resort;  and  probably  the  greater  part  of  the  local  narratives  is 
destined  either  to  be  re- written  with  all  the  amenities  of  literary 
tacl  and  refinement,  or,  cast  in  the  mould  of  genius,  become  iden- 
tified with  the  future  triumphs  of  the  American  novelist  and  poet. 
Jn  the  mean  time,  all  honor  is  due  to  those  who  have  assiduously 
labored  to  record  the  great  events  which  have  here  occurred,  and 
to  preserve  the  memories  of  our  patriots.  Jared  Sparks,  late  pres- 
ident of  Harvard  University,  has  labored  most  effectually  in  this 
sphere.  In  a  series  of  well-written  biographies,  and  in  the  col- 
lected Letters  of  Washington  and  Franklin,  which  he  has  edited, 
we  have  a  rich  fund  of  national  material.  Nor  should  the  "  Ar- 
chives "  of  the  venerable  Peter  Force  be  forgotten.* 

*  Among  the  local  and  special  histories,  all  more  or  less  valuable  as  books  of  reference,  and 
some  having  both  literary  and  authentic  merit,  arc  Belknap's  New  Hampshire,  Sullivan's  Maine, 
Morton's  New  Bug/ami  Memorial,  TrumbuH's  Connecticut,  Smith's  yew  York,  Watson's  Annuls 
of  Pennsylvania,  Williams's  Vermont,  Stephens's  Georgia.  Minot's  Massachusetts,  Stith's  Vir- 
gmia,  Winthrop's  Journal,  Thatcher's  Journal,  Flint's  Western  States,  Gayerre's  Louisiana, 
O'Callahan's  A'fw  York,  Frond's  Pennsylvania,  Moultrie's  Revolution  in  North  aw/  South  Car- 
olina anil  Georgia,  Bishop  White's  Histori/ of  the  Epif  copal  Church,  Jefferson's  Note*  on  Vir- 
ginia, Barton's  Florida,  Young's  Chronicles  of  the  First  Planters  of  Massachusetts  Bait  and 
Chronicles  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  of  Neiv  J'l.umouth,  in  N.  E.  Cheever's  Journal  of  the  Pil- 
grims, Frothingham's  History  of  the  Siege  of  Boston,  Hammond's  Political  History  of  .\'no 
York,  Holmcs's  Annals,  Kip's  Earl//  Jesuit  Missions  in  North  America,  Upham's  History  of  the 
Salem  Witchcraft,  Mayer's  History  of  the.  Mexican  War,  Miner's  History  of  Wyoming,  Mar- 
tnettc's  Hittsru  of  the  VaUt'i/  of  the  Mi?ri*sippi,  Newel  1's  fliftory  of  the  devolution  in  Texas, 
Smith's  Virginia,  Sprague's  History  of  the  Florida  War,  J.  T.  Irving's  Conquest,  of  Florida, 
Thomas's  Historical  Account  of  Pennsylvania,  Thompson's  Long  Island,  Buckingham's  Remi- 
niscences, Whittier's  Supernaturalism  in  Sew  England,  Pickett's  Alabama,  Thomas's  History  of 
Printing,  Morton's  Louisiana.  Maey's  Nantuckel,  Sewell's  Quakers,  Drake's  Indians,  Camther's 
Cavaliers  of  Virginia,  Alden's  Collections,  Francis  Baylies's  Colony  of  Plymouth,  Bradford's 
History,  and  Green's  Historical  Studies. 

There  are  also  many  interesting  volumes  of  American  biography.  Those  of  revolutionary 
and  colonial  times  are  embodied  in  the  series  edited  by  Sparks,  and  among  other  pleasing  and 
valuable  works  in  this  department  are  the  following:  Marshall's  Life  of  Washington,  Tudor's 
Otis,  Austin's  Gerry,  Wirt's  Patrick  Henry,  Wheaton's  I'inckney,  the  Life  of  Jos i ah  Quincy  by 
his  son,  Colden's  Fulton,  the  Life  of  John  Adams  by  his  grandson,  Tucker's  Jefferson,  Knapp's 
American  Biographies,  Biddle's  Cabot,  the  Life  of  Alexander  Hamilton  by  his  son,  the  Life  of 
Washington,  Franklin.  John  Jay,  Gouvernfitr  Morris,  by  Sparks,  Gibbs's  Life  of  Wolcott,  Ken- 
nedy's Life  of  Wirt.  Lite  of  Judge  Story  by  his  son.  Life  of  William  E.  Channing  by  his  neph- 
ew, Life  of  Samuel  Adams,  of  General  Greene,  of  Joseph  Warren,  of  Chief  Justice  Parsons  by 
his  son,  of  Governor  Winthro/>,  of  Theodore  Parker,  of  Washington  Irving,  &c.,  Parton's  Lives 
of  Franklin,  Burr,  and  Jnckson,  and  tlie  Life  and  tetters  of  Washington  Irving  by  his  nephew, 
P.  M.  Irving,  Life  of  Margaret  Fuller  Ossoli,  Dunlap's  American  Theatre  and  History  of  the. 
Arts  of  Design,  Lives  of  Generals  Putnam,  Greene,  Marion,  and  Captain  Smith,  by  W.  Gilmore 
Simms,  Colonel  Stone's  Life  of  Brant  and  /{ed  Jacket,  Davis's  Life  of  Aaron  Burr,  Life  of  Heed, 
Life  of  Stirling.  Sabine's  Amnrican  Loyalists,  Wynne's  Lives  of  Eminent  Americans.  Osgood's 
•Studies  in  C!>ri.*ti>in  Biography.  Sir*.  Let's  Hnytiennts,  Mrs.  EUett's  Women  of  the  devolution, 
Shcrburnc's  Paul  Jones,  and  Mackenzie's  Dvcatur  and  Perry. 


824  A   SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  I. 

552.  Among  the  earliest  and  most  indefatigable  laborers  in 
the   field  of  history  was   Ramsay.     His  Historical  Vteiv  of  the 

World>  from  the  earliest  Record  to  the  Nineteenth  Century ',  with 
a  particular  Reference  to  the  State  of  Society,  Literature,  Re- 
ligion, and  Form  of  Government  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
was  published  in  1819;  a  previous  work  early  in  1817;  and  more 
than  forty  years,  during  intervals  of  leisure  in  an  active  life, 
were  thus  occupied  by  a  man  not  more  remarkable  for  mental 
assiduity  than  for  all  the  social  graces  and  solid  excellences  of 
human  character. 

553.  Dr.  David  Ramsay,  a  native  of  Lancaster  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, was  the  son  of  an  Irish  emigrant.     After  graduating  at 
Princeton  College,  and,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  period, 
devoting  two  years  to  private  tuition,  he  studied  medicine,  and 
removed  to  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  where  he  soon  became 
a  distinguished  patriotic  writer.    He  was  a  surgeon  in  the  Ameri- 
can army,  and  active  in  the  councils  of  the  land,  suffering,  with 
other  votaries  of  independence,  the  penalty  of  several  months' 
banishment   to    St.    Augustine.      He  earnestly  opposed,  in  the 
legislature  of  the  state,  the  confiscation  of  loyalist  property.     In 
1782  he   became    a   member  of  the    Continental    Congress;  he 
three  years  after  represented  the  Charleston  district,  and  for  a 
year  was   president  of  that   body,  in   the   absence  of  Hancock. 
He  died  in    1815,  in  consequence  of  wounds  received  from  the 
pistol  of  a  maniac.     Remarkable  for  a  conciliatory  disposition 
and  ardent  patriotism,  he  was   a  fluent  speaker,  and  a  man  of 
great  literary  industry.     Besides  a  History  of  the  Revolution  in 
South  Carolina,  which  was  translated  and  published  in  France, 
a  History  of  the  American  Revolution,  which  reached  a  second 
edition,  a  Life  of  Washington,  and  a  History  of  SoiUh  Carolina, 
he  left  a  History  of  the  United  States,  from  their  first  settlement 
to  the  year  1808,  —  afterwards  continued,  by  other  hands,  to  the 
treaty  of  Ghent,  and  published,  —  a  monument  of  his  unwearied 
and  zealous  research,  and  patient  labor  for  the  good  of  the  pub- 
lic and  the  honor  of  his  country. 

554.  The  most  successful  attempt  yet  made  to  reduce  the  cha- 
otic but  rich  materials  of  American  history  to  order,  beauty,  and 
moral  significance,  is  the  work  of  George  Bancroft.     (        )    This 
author  was  born  in  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  in  the  year  1800: 
he  is  the  son  of  Rev.  Aaron  Bancroft,  D.  D.,  for  more  than  half 
a  century  minister  of  that  town,  a  man  highly  venerated,  and 


CHAP.  I.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  325 

devoted  to  historical  research,  particularly  as  regards  his  native 
country.  Thus  under  the  paternal  roof,  and  from  his  earliest 
age,  the  sympathies  and  taste  of  the  son  were  awakened  to  the 
subject  of  American  history.  The  inadequate  history  of  Judge 
Marshall,  and  the  careful  one  relating  to  the  colonial  period  by 
Grahame,  were  previously  the  only  works  devoted  to  the  subject. 
Our  revolution,  in  its  most  interesting  details,  was  known  in  Eu- 
rope chiefly  through  the  attractive  pages  of  Carlo  Botta.  With 
the  ground  thus  unoccupied,  Mr.  Bancroft  commenced  his  labors, 
lie  was  prepared  for  them  not  only  by  culture  and  talent,  but  by 
an  earnest  sympathy  with  the  spirit  of  the  age  he  was  to  illus- 
trate. Having  passed  through  the  discipline  of  a  brilliant  scho- 
lastic career  at  the  best  university  in  the  country,  studied  theol- 
ogy, and  engaged  in  the  classical  education  of  youth,  he  had  also 
visited  Europe,  and  become  imbued  with  the  love  of  German 
literature ;  he  was  for  two  years  a  pupil  of  Heeren,  at  Gottingen, 
and  mingled  freely  with  the  learned  coteries  of  Berlin  and  Hei- 
delberg. His  two  first  published  works,  after  his  return  to  the 
United  States,  are  remarkably  suggestive  of  his  traits  of  mind, 
and  indicate  that  versatility  which  is  so  desirable  in  an  histo- 
rian. These  were  a  small  volume  of  metrical  pieces,  mainly  ex- 
pressive of  his  individual  feelings  and  experience;  and  a  trans- 
lation of  Professor  Heeren's  Reflections  on  the  Politics  of  Ancient 
Greece:  thus  early  both  the  poetic  and  the  philosophic  elements 
were  developed;  and  although,  soon  after,  Mr.  Bancroft  entered 
actively  into  political  life,  and  held  several  high  offices  under  the 
general  government,  including  that  of  minister  to  Great  Britain, 
he  continued  to  prosecute  his  historical  researches,  under  the 
most  favorable  auspices,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  from 
time  to  time  put  forth  the  successive  volumes  of  his  Plistory  of 
the  United  States.  To  this  noble  task  he  brought  great  and 
patient  industry,  an  eloquent  style,  and  a  capacity  to  array  the 
theme  in  the  garb  of  philosophy.  Throughout  he  is  the  advo- 
cate of  democratic  institutions  ;  and  in  the  early  volumes,  where, 
by  the  nature  of  the  subject,  there  is  little  scope  for  attractive 
detail,  by  infusing  a  reflective  tone,  he  rescues  the  narrative  from 
dryness  and  monotony.  But  it  is  the  under-current  of  thought, 
rather  than  the  brilliant  surface  of  description,  which  gives  in- 
tellectual value  to  Bancroft's  Htstorv,  and  has  secured  for  it  so 
high  and  extensive  a  reputation.  In  sentiment  and  principles 
it  is  thoroughly  American ;  but  in  its  style  and  philosophy  it 


326  A  SKETCH  OF  CIJAP.  I. 

has  that  broad  and  eclectic  spirit  appropriate  both  to  the  general 
interest  of  the  subject  and  the  enlightened  sympathies  of  the  age. 

555.  Hildreth's  History  of  the  United  States  will  probably  be- 
come a  standard  book  of  reference.  (       )     Rhetorical  grace  and 
effect,  picturesqueness  and  the  impress  of  individual  opinion, 
are  traits  which  the  author  either  rejects  or  keeps  in  abeyance. 
His   narrative   is  plain   and   straightforward,   confined   to  facts 
which  he  seems  to  have  gleaned  with  great  care  and  conscien- 
tiousness.   The  special  merit  of  his  work  consists  in  the  absence 
of  whatever  can  possibly  be  deemed  either  irrelevant  or  osten- 
tatious.    A  Plistory  of  Liberty,  by  Samuel  Eliot,  is  the  work  of 
scholarship  and  taste,  but  not  of  poetic  inspiration  or  philoso- 
phy; it  is,  however,  an  elegant  addition  to  our  native  writings 
in  this  sphere.     In  a  popular  form,  the  most  creditable  perform- 
ance is  the  Field-Book  of  the  Revolution,  by  Benson  J.  Lossing 
(        ),  a  wood-engraver  by  profession,  who  has  visited  all  the. 
scenes  of  that  memorable  war,  and,  with  pen  and  pencil,  delin- 
eated each  incident  of  importance,  and  every  object  of  local 
interest.     His  work  is  one  which  is  destined  to  find  its  way  to 
every  farmer's  heart,  and  to  all  the  school  libraries  of  our  country. 

556.  The  freshness  of  his  subjects,  the  beauty  of  his  style,  and 
the  vast  difficulties  he  bravely  surmounted,  gained  for  William 
II.  Prescott  not  only  an  extensive  but  a  remarkably  speedy  repu- 
tation, after  the  appearance  of  his  first  history.  (       )     He  was 
the  grandson  of  Colonel  William  Prescott,  who  commanded  the 
Americans  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill.    He  was  born  in  Salem, 
Massachusetts,  on  the  4th  of  May,  1796.     Educated  in  boyhood 
by  Dr.  Gardiner,  a  fine  classical  teacher,  he  entered  Harvard 
College  in  1814.   He  studied  law,  and  passed  two  years  in  Europe. 
In  1838  was  published  his  History  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  which 
met  with  almost  immediate  and  unprecedented  success.     It  was 
soon  translated  into  all  the  modern  European  languages.     He 
died  in  Boston,  January  23,  1859.  Many  years  of  study,  travel,  and 
occasional  practice  in  writing,  preceded  the  long-cherished  de- 
sign of  achieving  an  historical  fame.    Although  greatly  impeded, 
at  the  outset,  by  a  vision  so  imperfect  as  to  threaten  absolute 
blindness,  in  other  respects  he  was  singularly  fortunate.     Unlike 
the  majority  of  intellectual  aspirants,  he  had  at  his  command  the 
means  to  procure  the  needful  but  expensive  materials  for  illus- 
trating a  subject  more  prolific,  at  once,  of  romantic  charms  and 
great  elements  of  human  destiny,  than  any  unappropriated  theme 
offeicd  by  the  whole  range  of  history.     It  included  the  momen- 


CIIAP.L  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  327 

tous  voyage  of  Columbus,  the  fall  of  the  Moorish  empire  in 
Spain,  and  the  many  and  eventful  consequences  thence  resulting. 
Aided  by  the  researches  of  our  minister  at  Madrid,*  himself  an 
enthusiast  in  letters,  Mr.  Prescott  soon  possessed  himself  of  am- 
ple documents  and  printed  authorities.  These  he  caused  to  be 
read  to  him,  and  during  the  process  dictated  notes,  which  were 
afterwards  so  frequently  repeated  orally  that  his  mind  gradually 
possessed  itself  of  all  the  important  details  ;  and  these  he  clothed 
in  his  own  language,  arranged  them  with  discrimination,  and 
made  out  a  consecutive  and  harmonious  narrative.  Tedious  as 
such  a  course  must  be,  and  laborious  in  the  highest  degree  as  it 
proved,  I  am  disposed  to  attribute  to  it,  in  a  measure  at  least, 
some  of  Mr.  Prescott's  greatest  charms  as  an  historian  —  the 
remarkable  evenness  and  sustained  harmony,  the  unity  of  con- 
ception and  ease  of  manner,  as  rare  as  it  is  delightful.  The 
History  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  is  a  work  that  unites  the  fas- 
cination of  romantic  fiction  with  the  grave  interest  of  authentic 
events.  Its  author  makes  no  pretension  to  analytical  power, 
except  in  the  arrangement  of  his  materials;  he  is  content  to  de- 
scribe, and  his  talents  are  more  artistic  than  philosophical ;  nei- 
ther is  any  cherished  theory  or  principle  obvious ;  his  ambition 
is  apparently  limited  to  skilful  narration.  Indefatigable  in  re- 
search, sagacious  in  the  choice  and  comparison  of  authorities, 
serene  in  temper,  graceful  in  style,  and  pleasing  in  sentiment, 
he  possesses  all  the  requisites  for  an  agreeable  writer;  while  his 
subjects  have  yielded  so  much  of  picturesque  material  and  roman- 
tic interest,  as  to  atone  for  the  lack  of  anymore  original  or  bril- 
liant qualities  in  the  author.  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  was  fol- 
lowed by  The  Conquest  of  Mexico,  and  The  Conquest  of  Peru. 
The  scenic  descriptions  and  the  portraits  of  the  Spanish  leaders, 
and  of  Montezuma  and  Guatimozin,  in  the  former  work,  give  to  it 
all  the  charm  of  an  effective  romance.  Few  works  of  imagination 
have  more  power  to  win  the  fancy  and  touch  the  heart.  The  in- 
sight afforded  into  Aztec  civilization  is  another  source  of  interest. 
5,") 7.  Another  of  the  few  standard  works  in  this  department, 
of  native  origin,  is  the  Life  and  Voyages  of  Columbus,  by  Wash- 
ington Irving.  Ostensibly  a  biography,  it  partakes  largely  of 
the  historical  character.  As  in  the  case  of  Prescott,  the  friendly 
suggestions  of  our  minister  at  Madrid  greatly  promoted  the  en- 
terprise. The  work  is  based  on  the  researches  of  Navarette; 

*  Alexander  H.  Everett 


328  A  SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  I. 

and  it  is  a  highly  fortunate  circumstance  that  the  crude  though 
invaluable  data  thus  gathered  were  first  put  in  shape  and  adorned 
with  the  elegances  of  a  polished  diction,  by  an  American  writer 
at  once  so  popular  and  so  capable  as  Irving.  The  result  is  a  Life 
of  Columbus,  authentic,  clear,  and  animated  in  narration,  graphic 
in  its  descriptive  episodes,  and  sustained  and  finished  in  style. 
It  is  a  permanent  contribution  to  English  as  well  as  American 
literature,  —  one  which  was  greatly  needed,  and  most  appropri- 
ately supplied. 

558.  Henry  Wheaton,  long  our  minister  at  Berlin,  is  chiefly 
known  to  literary  fame  by  his  able  Treatise  on  International  La-v  ; 
but,  while  charge  d'affaires  in  Denmark,  he  engaged  with  zeal  in 
historical  studies,  and  published  in  London,  in  1831,  a  History 
of  the  Northmen,   a   most   curious,  valuable,    and    suggestive, 
though  limited  work. 

559.  James  Fenimore  Cooper's  Naval  History  of  the  United 
States,  although  not  so  complete  as  is  desirable,  is  a  most  inter- 
esting work,  abounding  in  scenes  of  generous  valor  and  rare  ex- 
citement, recounted  with  the  tact  and  spirit  which  the  author's 
taste  and  practice  so  admirably  fitted  him  to  exhibit  on   such  a 
theme.     Some  of  the  descriptions  of  naval  warfare  are  pictu- 
resque and  thrilling  in  the  highest  degree.    The  work,  too,  is  an 
eloquent  appeal  to  patriotic  sentiment  and  national  pride.     It  is 
one  of  the  most  characteristic  histories,  both  in  regard  to  sub- 
ject and  style,  yet  produced  in  America. 

560.  One  of  the  most  satisfactory  of  recent  historical  works 
is  The  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac,  by  Francis  Parkman,  of  Boston. 
During  a  tour  in  the  Far  West,  where  he  hunted  the  buffalo  and 
fraternized  with  the  Indians,  the  author  gained  that  practical 
knowledge   of  aboriginal   habits  and  character  which  enabled 
him  to  delineate  the   subject  chosen  with  singular  truth   and 
effect.     Having  faithfully  explored  the  annals  of  the  French  and 
Indian  war,  he  applied  to  its  elucidation  the  vivid  impressions 
derived  from  his  sojourn  in  forest  and  prairie,  his  observation  of 
Indian  life,  and  his  thorough  knowledge  of  the  history  of  the 
Red  Men.      The  result  is   not  only  a  reliable  and    admirably 
planned  narrative,  but  one  of  the  most  picturesque  and  romantic 
yet  produced  in  America.     Few  subjects  are  more  dramatic  and 
rich  in  local  associations  ;   and  the  previous  discipline  and  excel- 
lent style  of  the  author  have  imparted  to  it  a  permanent  attrac- 
tion.    Pioneers  of  France  in  the  New  World  is  a  charming  his- 
torical narrative  from  the  same  pen. 


CHAP.  II.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  329 


CHAPTER    II. 

Belles  Lettres.  Influence  of  British  Essayists.  FRANKLIN.  DENNIE.  Signs  of 
Literary  Improvement.  JONATHAN  OLDSTYLE.  WASHINGTON  IRVING.  His 
Knickerbocker.  Sketch-Book.  His  other  Works.  Popularity.  Tour  on  the 
Prairies.  Character  as  an  Author.  DANA.  WILDE.  HUDSON.  GRISWOLD. 
LOWELL.  WHIPPLE.  TICKNOR.  WALKER.  WAYLAND.  JAMES.  EMERSON. 
Transccndentalists.  MADAME  OSSOLI.  Emerson's  Essays.  ORVILLE  DEWEY. 
Humorous  Writers.  Belles  Lettres.  TUDOR.  WIRT.  SANDS.  FAY.  WALSH. 
MITCHELL.  KIMBALL.  American  Travellers.  Causes  of  their  Success  as  Wri- 
ters. Fiction.  CHARLES  BROCKDEN  BROWN.  His  Novels.  JAMES  FENIMORE 
COOPER.  His  Novels  —  their  Popularity  and  Characteristics.  NATHANIEL  HAW- 
THORNE. His  Works  and  Genius.  Other  American  Writers  of  Fiction. 

5G1.  THE  colloquial  and  observant  character  given  to  English 
literature  by  the  wits,  politicians,  and  essayists  of  Queen  Anne's 
time,  the  social  and  agreeable  phase  which  the  art  of  writing 
exhibited  in  the  form  of  the  Spectator,  Guardian,  Tatler,  and 
other  popular  works  of  the  kind,  naturally  found  imitators  in 
the  American  colonies.  The  earliest  indication  of  a  taste  for 
belles  lettres  is  .the  republication,  in  the  newspapers  of  New 
England,  of  some  of  the  fresh  lucubrations  of  Steele  and  Ad- 
dison.  The  Lay  Preacher,  by  Dennie,  (  )  was  the  first  suc- 
cessful imitation  of  this  fashionable  species  of  literature :  more 
characteristic,  however,  of  th'e  sound  common  sense  and  utili- 
tarian instincts  of  the  people,  were  the  Essays  of  Franklin,  com- 
menced in  his  brother's  journal,  then  newly  established  at 
Boston.  Taste  for  the  amenities  of  intellectual  life,  however, 
at  this  period,  was  chiefly  gratified  by  recourse  to  the  emana- 
tions of  the  British  press ;  and  it  is  some  years  after  that  we 
perceive  signs  of  that  native  impulse  in  this  sphere  which  proved 
the  germ  of  American  literature.  "If  we  are  not  mistaken  in 
the  signs  of  the  times,"  says  Buckminster  (in  an  oration  deliv- 
ered at  Cambridge,  and  published  in  the  Anthology,  a  Boston 
Magazine,  which,  with  the  Port  Folio,  issued  at  Philadelphia, 
were  the  first  literary  journals  of  high  aims  in  America),  "the 
genius  of  our  literature  begins  to  show  symptoms  of  vigor,  and 
to  meditate  a  bolder  flight.  The  spirit  of  criticism  begins  to 


330  A  SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  II. 

plume  itself,  and  education,  as  it  assumes  a  more  learned  form, 
will  take  a  higher  aim.  If  we  are  not  misled  by  our  hopes,  the 
dream  of  ignorance  is  at  least  broken,  and  there  are  signs  that 
the  period  is  approaching  when  we  may  say  of  our  country, 
Tints  jam  rcgnat  Apollo"  This  prophecy  had  received  some 
confirmation  in  the  grace  and  local  observation  manifest  in  a 
series  of  letters  which  appeared  in  the  Nezv  Tork  Chronicle, 
signed  Jonathan  Oldstyle,  Gent.  — the  first  productions  of  Wash- 
ington Irving,  (  )  the  Goldsmith  of  America,  who  was  born 
in  New  York,  April  6,  1783.  Symptoms  of  alarming  disease 
i.oon  after  induced  a  voyage  to  Europe;  and  he  returned  to  the 
Island  of  Manhattan,  the  scene  of  his  boyish  rambles  and  youth- 
ful reveries,  with  a  mind  expanded  by  new  scenes,  and  his  nat- 
ural love  of  travel  and  elegant  literature  deepened.  Although 
ostensibly  a  law  student  in  the  office  of  Judge  Hoffman,  his  time 
was  devoted  to  social  intercourse  with  his  kindred,  who  were 
established  in  business  in  New  York,  and  a  few  genial  compan- 
ions, to  meditative  loiterings  in  the  vicinity  of  the  picturesque 
river  so  dear  to  his  heart,  and  to  writing  magazine  papers.  The 
happy  idea  of  a  humorous  description  of  his  native  town,  under 
the  old  Dutch  governors,  was  no  sooner  conceived  than  executed 
with  inimitable  wit  and  originality.  Not  then  contemplating  the 
profession  of  letters,  he  did  not  take  advantage  of  the  remarka- 
ble success  that  attended  this  work,  of  which  Sir  Walter  Scott 
thus  speaks  in  one  of  his  letters  to  an  American  friend  :  "I  beg 
you  to  accept  my  best  thanks  for  the  uncommon  degree  of  en- 
tertainment which  I  have  received  from  the  most  excellently 
jocose  history  of  New  York.  I  am  sensible  that  as  a  stranger 
to  American  parties  and  politics,  I  must  lose  much  of  the  con- 
cealed satire  of  the  piece ;  but  I  must  own  that,  looking  at  the 
simple  and  obvious  meaning  only,  I  have  never  read  anything 
so  closely  resembling  the  style  of  Dean  Swift  as  the  annals  of 
Diedrich  Knickerbocker.  I  have  been  employed  these  few  even- 
ings in  reading  them  aloud  to  Mrs.  S.  and  two  ladies  who  are 
our  guests,  and  our  sides  have  been  absolutely  sore  with  laugh 
ing.  I  think,  too,  there  are  passages  which  indicate  that  the  au  • 
thor  possesses  power  of  a  different  kind,  and  has  some  touches 
which  remind  me  much  of  Sterne."  Salmagundi,  which  Mr. 
Irving  had  previously  undertaken,  in  conjunction  with  Paul- 
ding,  proved  a  hit,  and  established  the  fame  of  its  authors; 
it  was  in  form  and  method  of  publication  imitated  from  ths 


CHAP.  II.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  331 

Spectator,  but  in  details,  spirit,  and  aim,  So  exquisitely  adapted 
to  the  latitude  of  New  York,  that  its  appearance  was  hailed  with 
a  delight  hitherto  unknown  ;  it  Avas,  in  fact,  a  complete  triumph 
of  local  genius.  From  these  pursuits,  the  author  turned  to  com- 
mercial toil,  in  connection  with  which  he  embarked  for  England 
in  1815  ;  and  while  there,  a  reverse  of  fortune  led  to  his  resuming 
the  pen  as  a  means  of  subsistence.  In  his  next  work,  the  Sketch- 
Book,  Sir  Walter's  opinion  of  his  pathetic  vein  was  fully  realized  : 
The  Wife,  The  Pride  of  the  Village,  and  The  Broken  Heart,  at 
once  took  their  places  as  gems  of  English  sentiment  and  descrip- 
tion. Nor  were  the  associations  of  home  inoperative;  and  the 
Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow  first  gave  a  "  local  habitation,"  in 
our  fresh  land,  to  native  fancy.  His  impressions  of  domestic  life 
in  Great  Britain  were  soon  after  given  to  the  public  in  Brace- 
bridge  Hall,  and  some  of  his  continental  experiences  embodied 
in  the  Tales  of  a  Traveller,  Soon  after,  Mr.  Irving  visited  Spain 
to  write  the  Life  of  Columbus,  to  which  we  have  before  alluded. 
His  sojourn  at  the  Alhambra,  and  at  Abbotsford  and  Newstead 
Abbey,  are  the  subjects  of  other  graceful  and  charming  volumes  ; 
while  Astoria,  or  Anecdotes  of  an  Enterprise  beyond  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  the  Life  of  Mohammed,  proved  solid  as  well  as 
elegant  contributions  to  our  standard  literature;  and  the  Life  of 
Washington,  a  standard  national  biography. 

5G2.  The  Tour  on  the  Prairies  appeared  in  1836.  It  is  an 
unpretending  account,  comprehending  a  period  of  about  four 
weeks,  of  travelling  and  hunting  excursions  upon  the  vast  west- 
ern plains.  The  local  features  of  this  interesting  region  have 
been  displayed  to  us  in  several  works  of  fiction,  of  which  it  has 
formed  the  scene;  and  more  formal  illustrations  of  the  extensive 
domain  denominated  The  West,  and  its  denizens,  have  been  re- 
peatedly presented  to  the  public.  But  in  this  volume  one  of  the 
most  extraordinary  and  attractive  portions  of  the  great  subject 
is  discussed,  not  as  the  subsidiary  part  of  a  romantic  story,  nor 
yet  in  the  desultory  style  of  epistolary  composition,  but  in  the 
deliberate,  connected  form  of  a  retrospective  narration.  When 
we  say  that  the  Tour  on  the  Prairies  is  rife  with  the  character- 
istics of  its  author,  no  ordinary  eulogium  is  bestowed.  His 
graphic  power  is  manifest  throughout.  The  boundless  prairies 
stretch  out  inimitably  to  the  fancy,  as  the  eye  scans  his  descrip- 
tions. The  athletic  figures  of  the  riflemen,  the  gayly  arrayed 
Indians,  the  heavy  buffalo,  and  the  graceful  deer,  pass  in  strong 


332  A  SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  II. 

relief  and  startling  contrast  before  us.  We  are  stirred  by  the 
bustle  of  the  camp  at  dawn,  and  soothed  by  its  quiet  or  delighted 
with  its  picturesque  aspect  under  the  shadow  of  night.  The 
imagination  revels  amid  the  green  oak  clumps  and  verdant  pea 
vines,  the  expanded  plains  and  the  glancing  river,  the  forest 
aisles,  and  the  silent  stars.  Nor  is  this  all.  Our  hearts  thrill  at 
the  vivid  representations  of  a  primitive  and  excursive  existence; 
we  involuntarily  yearn,  as  we  read,  for  the  genial  activity  and 
the  perfect  exposure  to  the  influences  of  Nature  in  all  her  free 
magnificence,  of  a  woodland  and  adventurous  life  ;  the  morning 
strain  of  the  bugle,  the  excitement  of  the  chase,  the  delicious 
repast,  the  forest  gossiping,  the  sweet  repose  beneath  the  canopy 
of  heaven  —  how  inviting,  as  depicted  by  such  a  pencil ! 

5G3.  Nor  has  the  author  failed  to  invigorate  and  render  doubly 
attractive  these  descriptive  drawings,  with  the  peculiar  light  and 
shade  of  his  own  rich  humor,  and  the  mellow  softness  of  his 
ready  sympathy.  A  less  skilful  draughtsman  would,  perhaps, 
in  the  account  of  the  preparations  for  departure  (Chapter  III.), 
have  spoken  of  the  hunters,  the  fires,  and  the  steeds  —  but  who, 
except  Geoffrey  Crayon,  would  have  been  so  quaintly  mindful 
of  the  little  dog,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  regarded  the  oper- 
ations of  the  farrier?  How  inimitably  the  Bee  Hunt  is  por- 
trayed !  and  what  have  we  of  the  kind  so  racy  as  the  account  of 
the  Republic  of  Prairie  Dogs,  unless  it  be  that  of  the  Rookery 
in  Bracebridge  Hall?  What  expressive  portraits  are  the  deline- 
ations of  our  rover's  companions!  How  consistently  drawn 
throughout,  and  in  what  fine  contrast,  are  the  reserved  and  sat- 
urnine Beatte,  and  the  vain-glorious,  sprightly,  and  versatile 
Tonish  !  A  golden  vein  of  vivacious,  yet  chaste  comparison  — 
that  beautiful,  yet  rarely  well-managed  species  of  wit,  and  a 
wholesome  and  pleasing  sprinkling  of  moral  comment — that 
delicate  and  often  most  efficacious  medium  of  useful  impressions 
—  intertwine  and  vivify  the  main  narrative.  Something,  too, 
of  that  fine  pathos  which  enriches  his  earlier  productions,  en- 
hances the  value  of  the  present.  He  tells  us,  indeed,  with  com- 
mendable honesty,  of  his  new  appetite  for  destruction,  which 
the  game  of  the  prairie  excited ;  but  we  cannot  fear  for  the 
tenderness  of  a  heart  that  sympathizes  so  readily  with  suffering, 
and  yields  so  gracefully  to  kindly  impulses.  He  gazes  upon  the 
noble  courser  of  the  wilds,  and  wishes  that  his  freedom  may  be 
perpetuated  ;  he  recognizes  the  touching  instinct  which  leads  the 


CHAP.  II.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  333 

wounded  elk  to  turn  aside  and  die  in  retiracj;  he  reciprocates 
the  attachment  of  the  beast  which  sustains  him,  and,  more  than 
all,  can  minister  even  to  the  foibles  of  a  fellow-being,  rather 
than  mar  the  transient  reign  of  human  pleasure. 

5G4r.  Washington  Irving's  last  days  were  passed  at  his  con- 
genial home,  "  Sunnjside,"  on  the  banks  of  his  favorite  river, 
the  Hudson.  To  the  revised  edition  of  his  works  he  added  many 
Spanish  legends,  home  sketches,  and  his  elaborate  biography 
of  Washington.  After  so  many  years  passed  abroad,  and  his 
residence  as  American  minister  at  the  Court  of  Spain,  and  after 
so  long  and  prosperous  a  literary,  and  so  genial  and  endeared 
a  social,  career,  he  died  —  surrounded  by  his  kindred,  to  whom 
he  was  the  life-long  benefactor,  crowned  with  honorable  fame 
and  the  affection  of  his  countrymen  —  on  the  29th  of  November, 
1859,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six. 

o(I5.  It  has  been  said  that  Mr.  Irving,  at  one  period  of  his 
life,  seriously  proposed  to  himself  the  profession  of  an  artist. 
The  idea  was  a  legitimate  result  of  his  intellectual  constitution; 
and  although  he  denied  its  development  in  one  form,  in  another 
it  has  fully  vindicated  itself.  Many  of  his  volumes  are  a  collec- 
tion of  sketches,  embodied  happily  in  language,  since  thereby 
their  more  general  enjoyment  is  insured,  but  susceptible  of  im- 
mediate transfer  to  the  canvas  of  the  painter.  These  are  like  a 
fine  gallery  of -pictures,  wherein  all  his  countrymen  delight  in 
many  a  morning  lounge  and  evening  reverie. 

5(!6.  Within  the  last  half  century,  a  number  of  critics,  en- 
dowed with  acute  perceptions  and  eloquent  expression,  as  well 
as  the  requisite  knowledge,  have  arisen  to  elucidate  the  tenden- 
cies, define  the  traits,  and  advocate  the  merits  of  modern  writers. 
By  faithful  translations,  able  reviews,  lectures  and  essays,  the 
best  characteristics  of  men  of  literary  genius,  schools  of  philos- 
ophy, poetry,  and  science  have  been  rendered  familiar  to  the 
cultivated  minds  of  the  nation.  Thus  Richard  H.  Dana  has  ex- 
plored and  interpreted,  with  a  rare  sympathetic  intelligence, 
the  old  English  drama;  Andrews  Norton,  the  authenticity  of  the 
Gospels;  Richard  H.  Wilde,  the  love  and  madness  of  Tasso; 
Alexander  H.  Everett,  the  range  of  contemporary  French  and 
German  literature;  Professor  Reed,  the  poetry  of  Wordsworth; 
Henry  N.  Hudson,  the  plays  of  Shakspeare;  John  S.  Hart,  the 
Faery  Queen ;  Russell  Lowell,  the  older  British  poets;  and 
Edwin  P.  Whipple,  the  best  authors  of  Great  Britain  and  Amer- 


334  A   SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  II. 

ica.  Our  numerous  "Female  Prose  Writers"  have  also  found 
an  intelligent  and  genial  historian  and  critic  in  Professor  Hart. 

5G7.  For  the  chief  critical  and  biographical  history  of  litera- 
ture in  the  United  States,  we  are  indebted  to  E.  A.  and  George 
Dujckinck's  Cyclopedia  of  American  Literature,  two  copious 
and  interesting  volumes,  popular  at  home  and  useful  abroad, 
giving  an  elaborate  account  of  what  has  been  done  by  American 
writers  from  the  foundation  of  the  country  to  the  present  hour. 

568.  The  philosophic  acuteness,  animated  and  fluent  diction, 
and  thorough  knowledge  of  the  subjects  discussed,  render  Mr. 
Whipple's  critical  essays  among  the  most  agreeable  reading  of 
the  kind.  His  reputation  as  an  eloquent  and  sagacious  critic  is 
now  firmly  established.  Both  in  style  and  thought  these  critical 
essays  are  worthy  of  the  times ;  bold  without  extravagance,  re- 
fined, yet  free  of  dilettanteism,  manly  and  philosophic  in  senti- 
ment, and  attractive  in  manner.*  The  most  elaborate  single 
work,  however,  in  the  history  of  literature,  is  George  Ticknor's 
History  of  Spanish  Literature,  (  )  the  result  of  many  years' 
research,  and  so  complete  and  satisfactory,  that  the  best  Euro- 
pean critics  have  recognized  it  a  permanent  authority;  it  is  both 
authentic  and  tasteful;  the  translations  .are  excellent,  the  ar- 
rangement judicious,  and  the  whole  performance  a  work  of 
genuine  scholarship.  It  supplies  a  desideratum,  and  is  an  in- 
teresting and  thorough  exposition  of  a  subject  at  once  curious, 
attractive,  and  of  general  literary  utility.  James  Walker  and 
Francis  Wayland,  although  of  widely  diverse  theological  opin- 
ions, are  both  expositors  of  moral  philosophy,  to  which  they  have 
made  valuable  contributions.  Henry  James,  of  Albany,  (  )  is 
the  most  argumentative  and  eloquent  advocate  of  new  social  prin- 
ciples in  the  country;  and  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  (  )  by  a 
certain  quaintness  of  diction  and  boldly  speculative  turn  of 
mind,  has  achieved  a  wide  popularity.  It  is,  however,  to  a 
peculiar  verbal  facility  and  aphoristic  emphasis,  rather  than  to 
any  constructive  genius,  that  he  owes  the  impression  he  creates. 

509.  Whoever  turns  to  Emerson's  Essays,  or  to  the  writings 
of  Margaret  Fuller  Ossoli  (whose  remarkable  acquirements, 
moral  courage,  and  tragic  fate,  render  her  name  prominent 
among  our  female  authors),  for  a  system,  a  code,  or  even  a  set 
of  definite  principles,  will  be  disappointed.  The  chief  good  thus 

*  Essays  and  Reviews;  Literature  and  Life;  Character  aad  Characteristic  Hon. 


;IIAP.  II.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  335 

ar  achieved  by  this  class  of  thinkers  has  been  negative;  they 

lave  emancipated  many  minds  from  the  thraldom  of  local  pre- 
judices and  prescriptive  opinion,  but  have  failed  to  reveal  any 

)ositive  and  satisfactory  truth  unknown  before.  Emerson  has 
an  inventive  fancy;  he  knows  how  to  clothe  truisms  in  startling 
costume  ;  he  evolves  beautiful  or  apt  figures  and  apothegms  that 
strike  at  first,  but  when  contemplated,  prove,  as  has  been  said, 
sually  either  true  and  not  new,  or  new  and  not  true.  His  vol- 
umes, however,  are  suggestive,  tersely  and  often  gracefully  writ- 

m  :  they  are  thoughtful,  observant,  and  speculative,  and  indicate 
a  philosophic  taste  rather  than  power.  As  contributions  to 
American  literature,  they  have  the  merit  of  a  spirit,  beauty,  and 
reflective  tone  previously  almost  undiscoverable  in  the  didactic 
writings  of  the  country.  A  writer  of  more  consistency  in  ethics, 
and  a  sympathy  with  man  more  human,  is  Orville  Dewey,  (  ) 
•whose  discourses  abound  in  earnest  appeals  to  consciousness,  in 
a  noble  vindication  of  human  nature,  and  a  faith  in  progressive 

deas,  often  arrayed  in  touching  and  impressive  rhetoric. 

570.  We  have  not  been  wanting  in  excellent  translators,  espe- 
cially of  German  literature;  our  scholars  and  poets  have  admi- 
rably used  their  knowledge  of  the  language  in  this  regard.    The 
first  experiment  was  Bancroft's  translation  of  Heeren,   already 
referred  to;  and  since  then,  some  of  the  choicest  lyrics  and  best 

philosophy  of  Germany  have  been  given  to  the  American  public 
>y  Professor  Longfellow,  George  Ripley,  R.  W.  Emerson,  John 

S.  Dwight,  S.  M.  Fuller,  George  H.  Calvert,  Rev.  C.  T.  Brooks, 

W.  H.  Channing,  F.  H.  Hedge,  Samuel  Osgood,  and  others. 
Dr.  Mitchell,  of  New  York,  translated  Sannazario's  Italian 
>oems,  Mrs.  Nichols  the  Promessi  Sposi  of  Manzoni,  and  Dr. 

Parsons,  of  Boston,  has  made  the  best  metrical  translations  into 

English  of  Dante's  great  poem. 

571.  The   most  elaborate  piece   of   humor   in   our   literature 
has  been  already  mentioned  —  Irving's  facetious  history  of  his 
native  town.     The  sketch  entitled  The  Stout  Gentleman,  by  the 
same  genial  author,  is  another  inimitable  attempt  in  miniature, 
as  well  as  some  of  the  papers  in  Salmagundi.     The  Letters  of 
Jack  Downing  may  be  considered  an  indigenous  specimen  in 
this  department;   and  also  the  Charcoal  Sketches  of  Joseph  C. 
Neal,  the  Ollapodiana  of  Willis  G.  Clarke,  the  Puffer  Hopkins 
of  Cornelius  Matthews,  and    many  scenes  by  Thorpe,  in  Mrs. 
Kirkland's  New  Home,  and  the  Biglow  Papers  of  J.  R.  Lowell. 


336  A  SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  II. 

The  original  aspects  of  life  in  the  West  and  South,  as  well  as 
those  of  New  England,  have  also  found  several  apt  and  graphic 
delineators;  although  the  coarseness  of  the  subjects,  or  the  care- 
lessness of  the  style,  will  seldom  allow  them  a  literary  rank. 

572.  That  delightful  species  of  literature  which  is  neither  criti- 
cism  nor   fiction  —  neither  oratory  nor  history  —  but  partakes 

.somewhat  of  all  these,  and  owes  its  charm  to  a  felicitous  blend- 
ing of  fact  and  fancy,  of  sentiment  and  thought  —  the  belles 
lettres  writing  of  our  country,  has  gradually  increased  as  the 
ornamental  has  encroached  on  the  once  arbitrary  domain  of  the 
useful.  Among  the  earliest  specimens  were  the  Letters  of  a 
British  Spy  and  the  Old  Bachelor  of  William  Wirt,  and  Tudors 
Letters  on  New  England :  in  New  York  this  sphere  was  grace- 
fully illustrated  by  Robert  C.  Sands  and  Theodore  S.  Fay,  by 
tale,  novelette,  and  essay;  in  Philadelphia,  by  Robert  Walsh, 
who  gleaned  two  volumes  from  his  newspaper  articles ;  and  at 
present,  by  the  Reveries  of  a  Bachelor  of  Mitchell,  and  the  con- 
tributions of  N.  P.  Willis,  and  in  a  more  vigorous  manner  in  the 
St.  Lcgcr  Papers  of  Kimball.  Professors  Frisbie,  Caldwell, 
Henry,  and  others  have  contributed  to  the  taste  and  culture  of 
the  belles  lettres  in  America.* 

573.  The  literature  of  no  country  is  more  rich  in  books  of 
travel.     From  Carter's  Letters  from  Etirope,  Dwight's  Travels 
in  Neiv  England,  and  Lewis  and  Clark's  Expedition  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains,   to  the   Yucatan   of  Stephens,   and   the    Two   Years 
before  the  Mast  of  Dana,  American  writers  have  put  forth  a 
succession  of  animated,  intelligent,  and  most  agreeable  records 
of  their  explorations  in  every  part  of  the  globe.     In  many  in- 
stances, their  researches  have  been  directed  to  a  special  object, 
and  resulted  in  positive  contributions  "to  natural  science;  thus 


*  There  arc  a  few  American  books  which  cannot  be  strictly  classified  under  either  of  these  di- 
visions, which  not  only  have  a  sterling  value,  but  a  wide  and  established  reputation,  such  as  the 
Lefial  Commentaries  of  Chancellor  Kent;  the  Diet  ionan/  of  Noah  Webster;  Dr.  Rush's  Treatise 
on  the  I'hiloxophi/  of  the  Human  Voice ;  Lectures  on  Art,  by  Washington  Allston  ;  the  Classical 
Manuals  of  Professor  Anthon,  and  Rev.  P.  Bullions,  D.  D. ;  Dr.  Bowditch's  translation  of  the 
Mi'cnniquc  Cileste  of  La  Place;  the  Ornithology  of  Wilson  and  Audubon;  Catlin's  and  School- 
crai't's  works  on  the  Indians ;  —  the  ethnological  contributions  of  Squier,  Pickering's  philologi- 
cal researches,  and  the  essays  on  political  economy  by  Albert  Gallat'm,  Raguet,  Dr.  Cooper, 
Tucker,  Colton,  Wayland,  Middleton,  Raymond,  A.  II.  Everett,  and  Henry  C.  Carry.  Francis 
Bowcn  has  published  able  lectures  on  metaphysical  subjects.  James  D.  Nourse,  of  Kentucky, 
has  published  a  clever  little  treatise,  the  Philosophy  of  History ;  Dr.  Palfrey,  of  Massachusetts, 
A  series  of  erudite  lectures  on  Jewish  antiquities;  J.  Q.  Adams  a  course  on  rhetoric;  Judgo 
liuell  and  Henry  Colman  valuable  works  on  agriculture,  and  A.  J.  Downing  ou  rural  archi- 
tecture Hid  horticulture. 


CHAP.  II.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  337 

Audubon's  travels  are  associated  with  his  discoveries  in  orni- 
thology, and  those  of  Schoolcraft  with  his  Indian  lore.  Stephens 
revealed  to  our  gaze  the  singular  and  magnificent  ruins  of  Cen- 
tral America;  Sanderson  unfolded  the  hygiene  of  life  in  Paris; 
Flint  guided  our  steps  through  the  fertile  valleys  of  the  West, 
and  Irving  and  Hoffman  brought  its  scenic  wonders  home  to  the 
coldest  fancy.* 

571.  Romantic  fiction,  in  the  United  States,  took  its  rise  with 
the  publication  of  Wieland  by  Charles  Brockden  Brown,  in 
1798;  attained  its  most  complete  and  characteristic  development 
in  the  long  and  brilliant  career,  as  a  novelist,  of  James  Feni- 
more  Cooper;  (  )  and  is  now  represented,  in  its  artistic  ex- 
cellence, by  Nathaniel  Hawthorne.  Brown  was  born  in  Phila- 
delphia, on  the  i7th  of  January,  1771.  An  invalid  from  infancy, 
he  had  the  dreamy  moods  and  roaming  propensity  incident  to 
poetical  sympathies;  after  vainly  attempting  to  interest  his 
mind  in  the  law,  except  in  a  speculative  manner,  he  became  an 
author,  at  a  period  and  under  circumstances  which  afford  the 
best  evidence  that  the  vocation  was  ordained  by  his  idiosyncrasy. 
With  chiefly  the  encouragement  of  a  few  cultivated  friends  in 
New  York  to  sustain  him,  with  narrow  means  and  feeble  health, 
he  earnestly  pursued  his  lonely  career,  inspired  by  the  enthusi- 
asm of  genius.  His  literary  toil  was  varied,  erudite,  and  inde- 
fatigable. He  edited  magazines  and  annual  registers,  wrote 
political  essays,  a  geography,  and  a  treatise  on  architecture, 
translated  Volney's  Travels  in  the  United  States,  debated  at 
clubs,  journalized,  corresponded,  made  excursions,  and  entered 
ardently  into  the  quiet  duties  of  the  fireside  and  the  family.  He 
died  at  the  close  of  his  thirty-ninth  year.  His  character  was 
singularly  gentle  and  pure;  and  he  was  beloved,  even  when  not 
appreciated.  It  is  by  his  novels,  however,  that  Brown  achieved 
renown.  They  are  remarkable  for  intensity  and  supernatural- 

*  It  is  difficult  to  enumerate  the  works  in  this  department;  but  among  them  may  be  justly 
commended,  either  for  graces  of  style,  effective  description,  or  interesting  narrative,  —  and,  iii 
some  instances,  for  all  these  qualities  combined,  —  the  Year  in  $)>ain  of  Mackenzie,  the  Winter 
in  Hie  West  of  C.  F.  Hott'man,  the  Oregon  Trail  of  Francis  Parkman,  the  Pencillings  by  the  Wat/ 
of  Willis,  the  Scenes  and  Thoughts  in  Europe  of  George  II.  Calvert,  Longfellow's  Outre-mer,  the 
Tijpee  of  Melville,  the  Views  Afoot  of  Taylor,  Fresh  Gleanings  by  Mitchell,  Kile  Xotes  by 
George  Curtis,  Squier's  A'icarafiua,  and  the  writings  of  this  kind  by  Robinson,  Long,  Melville, 
Jewett,  Speimer.dfeJregg,  Townsend,  Fremont,  Lanman,  Bryant,  Thorpe,  Kendall,  Wilson,  Web- 
ber, Colton,  Gillespie,  Heudley,  Uewey,  Kip,  Silliman,  Bigeltiw,  Cushing,  Wise,  Warren,  Mitch- 
eil,  Cneever,  Catlin,  Norman,  Wailis,  Shaler,  Ruschcnberger,  King,  Breckenridge,  Kidder, 
Brown,  Fisk,  Lyman,  the  Exploring  Expedition  by  Wilkes,  the  Dead  Sea  Expedition  by  Lynch, 
and  the  voyages  of  Delano,  Cleveland,  Coggeshall,  aud  others. 
22 


3S8  A   SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  II. 

ism.  His  genius  was  eminently  psychological ;  Godwin  is  his 
English  prototype.  To  the  reader  of  the  present  day  these 
writings  appear  somewhat  limited  and  sketch-like  ;  but  when  we 
consider  the  period  of  their  composition,  and  the  disadvantages 
under  which  they  appeared,  they  certainly  deserve  to  be  ranked 
among  the  wonderful  productions  of  the  human  mind.  Had  his 
works  been  as  artistically  constructed  as  they  were  profoundly 
conceived  and  ingeniously  executed,  they  would  have  become 
standard.  As  it  is,  we  recognize  the  rare  insight  and  keen  sen- 
sibility of  the  man,  acknowledge  his  power  to  "awaken  terror 
and  pity,"  and  lament  the  want  of  high  finish  and  effective 
shape  visible  in  these  early  and  remarkable  fruits  of  native 
genius. 

575.  The  first  successful  novel  by  an  American  author  was  the 
Spy.  A  previous  work,  by  the  same  author,  entitled  Precaution, 
had  made  comparatively  little  impression.  It  was  strongly  tinc- 
tured with  an  English  flavor,  in  many  respects  imitative,  and,  as 
it  afterwards  appeared,  written  and  printed  under  circumstances 
which  gave  little  range  to  Cooper's  real  genius.  In  1823,  he 
published  the  Pioneers.  In  this  and  the  novel  immediately  pre- 
ceding it,  a  vein  of  national  association  was  opened,  an  original 
source  of  romantic  and  picturesque  .interest  revealed,  and  an 
epoch  in  our  literature  created.  What  Cooper  had  the  bold  in- 
vention to  undertake,  he  had  the  firmness  of  purpose  and  the 
elasticity  of  spirit  to  pursue  with  unflinching  zeal.  Indeed,  his 
most  characteristic  trait  was  self-reliance.  He  commenced  the 
arduous  career  of  an  author  in  a  new  country,  and  with  fresh 
materials :  at  first,  the  tone  of  criticism  was  somewhat  discour- 
aging; but  his  appeal  had  been  to  the  popular  mind,  and  not  to 
a  literary  clique,  and  the  response  was  universal  and  sincere. 
From  this  time,  he  gave  to  the  press  a  series  of  prose  romances 
conceived  with  so  much  spirit  and  truth,  and  executed  with  such 
fidelity  and  vital  power,  that  they  instantly  took  captive  the  read- 
er. His  faculty  of  description,  and  his  sense  of  the  adventurous, 
were  the  great  sources  of  his  triumph.  Refinement  of  style, 
poetic  sensibility,  and  melodramatic  intensity,  were  elements 
that  he  ignored;  but  when  he  pictured  the  scenes  of  the  forest 
and  prairie,  the  incidents  of  Indian  warfare,  the  vicissitudes  of 
border  life,  and  the  phenomena  of  the  ocean  and  nautical  expe- 
rience, he  displayed  a  familiarity  with  the  subjects,  a  keen  sym- 
pathy with  the  characters,  and  a  thorough  reality  in  the  delinea- 


CHAP.  II.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  339 

tion,  which  at  once  stamped  him  as  a  writer  of  original  and 
great  capacity.  It  is  true  that  in  some  of  the  requisites  of  the 
novelist  he  was  inferior  to.  many  subsequent  authors  in  the  same 
department.  His  female  characters  want  individuality  and  in- 
terest, and  his  dialogue  is  sometimes  forced  and  ineffective ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  seized  with  a  bold  grasp  the  tangible 
and  characteristic  in  his  own  land,  and  not  only  stirred  the  hearts 
of  his  countrymen  with  vivid  pictures  of  colonial,  revolutionary, 
and  emigrant  life,  with  the  vast  ocean  and  forest  for  its  scenes, 
but  opened  to  the  gaze  of  Europe  phases  of  human  existence  at 
once  novel  and  exciting.  The  fisherman  of  Norway,  the  mer- 
chant of  Bordeaux,  the  scholar  at  Frankfort,  and  the  countess  of 
Florence,  in  a  brief  period,  all  hung  with  delight  over  Cooper's 
daguerreotypes  of  the  New  World,  transferred  to  their  respective 
languages.  This  was  no  ordinary  triumph.  It  was  a  rich  and 
legitimate  fruit  of  American  genius  in  letters.  To  appreciate  it 
wre  must  look  back  upon  the  period  when  the  Spy,  the  Pioneers, 
the  Last  of  the  Mohicans,  the  Pilot,  the  Red  Rover,  the  Wept 
of  the  Wish-ton-  Wish,  the  Water  Witch,  and  the  Prairie,  were 
new  creations,  and  remember  that  they  first  revealed  America  to 
Europe  through  a  literary  medium.  Cooper's  youth  was  passed 
in  a  manner  admirably  fitted  to  develop  his  special  talent,  and 
provide  the  resources  of  his  subsequent  labors.  Born  in  Bur- 
lington, N.  J.,  on  the  i5th  of  September,  1789,  he  was  early  re- 
moved to  the  borders  of  Otsego  Lake,  where  his  father,  Judge 
Cooper,  erected  a  homestead,  afterwards  inhabited  and  long  oc- 
cupied by  the  novelist.  He  was  prepared  for  college  by  the 
Rector  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  in  Albany,  and  entered  Yale  in 
1802.  Three  years  after,  having  proved  an  excellent  classical 
student,  and  enjoyed  the  intimacy  of  several  youth  afterwards 
eminent  in  the  land,  he  left  New  Haven,  and  joined  the  United 
States  navy  as  a  midshipman.  After  passing  six  years  in  the  ser- 
vice, he  resigned,  married,  and  soon  after  established  himself  on 
his  paternal  domain,  situated  amid  some  of  the  finest  scenery  and 
rural  attraction  of  his  native  state.  Thus  Cooper  was  early  ini- 
tiated into  the  scenes  of  a  newly-settled  country  and  a  maritime 
life,  with  the  benefit  of  academical  training  and  the  best  social 
privileges.  All  these  means  of  culture  and  development  his 
active  mind  fully  appreciated;  his  observation  never  slumbered, 
and  its  fruits  were  industriously  garnered. 
57G.  His  nautical  and  Indian  tales  form,  perhaps,  the  most 


'340  A   SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  II. 

characteristic  portion  of  our  literature.  The  Bravo  is  the  best 
of  his  European  novels,  and  his  Naval  History  is  valuable  and 
interesting-.  He  was  one  of  the  most  industrious  of  authors ;  his 
books  of  travel  and  biographical  sketches  are  numerous,  and 
possess  great  fidelity  of  detail,  although  not  free  from  prejudice. 
He  is  always  thoroughly  American.  His  style  is  national;  and 
when  he  died  in  the  autumn  of  1851,  a  voice  of  praise  and  regret 
seemed  to  rise  all  over  the  land,  and  a  large  and  distinguished 
assembly  convened  soon  after,  in  New  York,  to  listen  to  his 
eulogy  —  pronounced  by  the  poet  Bryant. 

577.  Hawthorne  was  distinguished  for  the  finish  of  his  style 
and  the  delicacy  of  his  psychological  insight.  (  )  lie  com- 
bines the  metaphysical  talent  of  Brown  with  the  refined  diction 
of  Irving,  For  a  period  of  more  than  twenty  years  he  con- 
tributed, at  intervals,  to  annuals  and  magazines,  the  most  ex- 
quisite fancy  sketches  and  historical  narratives,  the  merit  of 
which  was  scarcely  recognized  by  the  public  at  large,  although 
cordially  praised  by  the  discriminating  few.  These  papers  have 
been  collected  under  the  title  of  Tivice-told  Tales,  and  Mosses 
from  an  Old  Manse  ;  and  their  grace,  wisdom,  and  originality 
are  now  generally  acknowledged.  But  it  was  through  the  two 
romances  entitled  the  Scarlet  Letter  and  the  House  of  the  Seven 
Gables  that  Hawthorne's  eminence  was  reached.  They  are  re- 
markable at  once  for  a  highly  finished  and  beautiful  style,  the 
most  charming  artistic  skill,  and  intense  characterization.  To 
these  intrinsic  and  universal  claims  they  add  that  of  native 
scenes  and  subjects.  Imagine  such  an  anatomizer  of  the  hu- 
man heart  as  Balzac,  transported  to  a  provincial  town  of  New 
England,  and  giving  to  its  houses,  streets,  and  history  the  ana- 
lytical power  of  his  genius,  and  we  realize  the  triumph  of  Haw- 
thorne. Bravely  adopting  familiar  materials,  he  has  thrown 
over  them  the  light  and  shadow  of  his  thoughtful  mind,  eliciting 
a  deep  significance  and  a  prolific  beauty :  if  we  may  use  the  ex- 
pression, he  is  ideally  true  to  the  real.  His  invention  is  felicitous, 
his  tone  magnetic;  his  sphere  borders  on  the  supernatural,  and 
yet  a  chaste  expression  and  a  refined  sentiment  underlie  his  most 
earnest  utterance;  he  is  more  suggestive  than  dramatic.  The 
early  history  of  New  England  has  found  no  such  genial  and 
vivid  illustration  as  his  pages  afford.  At  all  points  his  genius 
touches  the  interests  of  human  life,  now  overflowing  with  a  love 
of  external  nature  as  gentle  as  that  of  Thomson,  now  intent  upon 


CHAP.  II.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  341 

the  quaint  or  characteristic  in  life  with  a  humor  as.  zestful  as  that 
of  Lamb,  now  developing  the  horrible  or  pathetic  with  some- 
thing of  John  Webster's  dramatic  terror,  and  again  buoyant  with 
a  fantasy  as  aerial  as  Shelley's  conceptions.  And,  in  each  in- 
stance, the  staple  of  charming  invention  is  adorned  with  the 
purest  graces  of  style.  Hawthorne  was  born  in  Salem,  Massa- 
chusetts, educated  at  Bowdoin  College,  and  after  having  filled 
an  office  in  the  Salem  custom-house,  and  the  post-office  of  his 
native  town,  lived  a  year  on  a  community  farm.  He  acted  as 
United  States  consul  at  Liverpool  for  several  years,  and  was  set- 
tled in  the  pleasant  country  town  of  Concord,  Mass.  He  died 
with  the  pure  and  permanent  fame  of  genius,  having  embalmed 
the  experience  he  enjoyed  in  Italy  and  England  in  the  romances 
of  the  Marble  Faun  and  Our  Old  Home. 

578.  There  are  many  intermediate  authors  between  the  three 
already  described  in  this  sphere  of  literature,  of  various  and 
high  degrees,  both  of  merit  and  reputation,  but  whose  traits  are 
chiefly  analogous  to  those  of  the  prominent  writers  we  have  sur- 
veyed. Some  of  them  have  ably  illustrated  local  themes,  others 
excelled  in  scenic  limning,  and  a  few  evinced  genius  for  charac- 
terization. Paulding,  for  instance,  in  Westward  Ho,  and  the 
Dutchman  s  Fireside,  has  given  admirable  pictures  of  colonial 
life;  Richard  H.  Dana,  in  the  Idle  Man,  has  two  or  three  re- 
markable psychological  tales;  Timothy  Flint,  James  Hall 
Thomas,  and  more  recently  M'Connell,  of  Illinois,  have  written 
very  graphic  and  spirited  novels  of  western  life ;  John  P.  Ken- 
nedy, of  Baltimore,  has  embalmed  Virginia  life  in  the  olden 
time  in  S-^allow  Barn,  and  Fay  that  of  modern  New  York;  Gil- 
more  Simms,  a  prolific  and  vigorous  novelist,  in  a  similar  form 
has  embodied  the  traits  of  southern  character  and  scenery ;  Hoff- 
man, the  early  history  of  his  native  state;  Dr.  Robert  Bird,  of 
Philadelphia,  those  of  Mexico  ;  William  Ware  has  rivalled  Lock- 
hart's  classical  romance  in  his  Letters  from  Palmyra,  and  Pro- 
bus  :  Allston's  artist-genius  is  luminous  is  Monaldi ;  Judd  in 
Margaret  has  related  a  tragic  story  arrayed  in  the  very  best 
hues  and  outlines  of  New  England  life;  and  Edgar  A.  Poe,  (  ) 
in  his  Talcs  of  the  Grotesque  and  Arabesque,  evinces  a  genius 
in  which  a  love  of  the  marvellous  and  an  intensity  of  conception 
are  united  with  the  wildest  sympathies,  as  if  the  endowments  of 
Mrs.  Radcliffe  and  Coleridge  were  partially  united  in  one  mind. 
In  adventurous  and  descriptive  narration  we  have  Melville  and 


342 


A   SKETCH  OF 


CHAP.  II. 


Mayo.  John  Neal  struck  off  at  a  heat  some  half-score  of  novels 
that,  at  least,  illustrate  a  facility  quite  remarkable ;  and,  indeed, 
from  the  days  of  the  Algerine  Captive  and  the  Foresters  —  the 
first  attempts  at  such  writing  in  this  country  —  to  the  present  day, 
there  has  been  no  lack  of  native  fictions.  The  minor  specimens 
which  possess  the  highest  literary  excellence  are  by  Irving, 
Willis,  and  Longfellow;  but  their  claims  rest  entirely  on  style 
and  sentiment;  they  are  brief  and  polished,  but  more  graceful 
than  impressive. 


CHAP.  III.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  343 


CHAPTER  III. 

POETRY. 

FRENEAU  and  the  early  Metrical  Writers.  MCMFORD,  CLIFFTON,  ALLSTON,  and 
others.  PIERPONT.  DANA.  HILLHOUSE.  SPRAGUE.  PERCIVAL.  HALLECK. 
DRAKE,  HOFFMAN.  WILLIS.  LONGFELLOW.  HOLMES.  LOWELL.  BOKER. 
Favorite  Single  Poems.  Descriptive  Poetry.  STREET,  WHITTIER,  and  others. 
BRAINARD.  Song- Writers.  Other  Poets.  Female  Poets.  BRYANT. 

579.  THE  first  metrical  compositions  in  this  country,  recog- 
nized by  popular  sympathy,  were  the  effusions  of  Philip  Fre- 
neau,  (  )  a  political  writer  befriended  by  Jefferson.  He  wrote 
many  songs  and  ballads  in  a  patriotic  and  historical  vein,  which 
attracted  and  somewhat  reflected  the  feelings  of  his  contempo- 
raries, and  were  not  destitute  of  merit.  Their  success  was  owing, 
in  part,  to  the  immediate  interest  of  the  subjects,  and  in  part  to 
musical  versification  and  pathetic  sentiment.  One  of  his  Indian 
ballads  has  survived  the  general  neglect  to  which  more  artistic 
skill  and  deeper  significance  in  poetry  have  banished  the  mass 
of  his  verses :  to  the  curious  in  metrical  writings,  however,  they 
yet  afford  a  characteristic  illustration  of  the  taste  and  spirit^ 
the  times.  Freneau  was  born  in  1752,  and  died  in  1832.  The 
antecedent  specimens  of  verse  in  America  were,  for  the  most 
part,  the  occasional  work  of  the  clergy,  and  are  remarkable 
chiefly  for  a  quaint  and  monotonous  strain,  grotesque  rhymed 
versions  of  the  Psalms,  and  tolerable  attempts  at  descriptive 
poems.  The  writings  of  Mrs.  Bradstreet,  Governor  Bradford, 
Roger  Williams,  Cotton  Mather,  and  the  witty  Dr.  Byles,  in  this 
department,  are  now  only  familiar  to  the  antiquarian.  Frank- 
lin's friend  Ralph,  and  Thomas  Godfrey,  of  Philadelphia,  indi- 
cate the  dawn  of  a  more  liberal  era,  illustrated  by  Trumbull, 
Dwight,  Humphreys,  Alsop,  and  Honeywood ;  passages  from 
whose  poems  show  a  marked  improvement  in  diction,  a  more 
refined  scholarship,  and  genuine  sympathy  with  nature;  but, 
although  in  a  literary  point  of  view  they  are  respectable  per- 


344  A   SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  III. 

formances,  and,  for  the  period  and  locality  of  their  composition, 
suggestive  of  a  rare  degree  of  taste,  there  are  too  few  salient 
points,  and  too  little  of  an  original  spirit,  to  justify  any  claim  to 
high  poetical  genius.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  efforts  in 
this  branch  of  letters,  at  the  epoch  in  question,  was  doubtless 
William  Mumford's  translation  of  the  Iliad —  a  work  that,  when 
published,  elicited  some  authentic  critical  praise.  He  was  a 
native  of  Virginia,  and  his  great  undertaking  was  only  finished 
a  short  period  before  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1825.  The 
verses  which  have  the  earliest  touch  of  true  sensibility  and  that 
melody  of  rhythm  which  seems  intuitive,  are  the  few  bequeathed 
by  William  Cliffton,  of  Philadelphia,  born  in  1772.  After  him 
we  trace  the  American  muse  in  the  patriotic  songs  of  R.  T. 
Paine,  and  the  scenic  descriptions  of  Paulding,  until  she  began 
a  loftier  though  brief  flight  in  the  fanciful  poems  of  Allston. 

580.  Washington  Allston  (  )  was  born  in  the  State  of  South 
Carolina  in  the  year  1779,  and  died  at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  in 
1843.  By  profession  he  was  a  painter,  and  his  works  overflow 
with  genius ;  still  it  would  be  difficult  to  say  whether  his  pen, 
his  pencil,  or  his  tongue  chiefly  made  known  that  he  was  a 
prophet  of  the  true  and  beautiful.  He  believed  not  in  any  ex- 
clusive development.  It  was  the  spirit  of  a  man,  and  not  his 
dexterity  or  success,  by  which  he  tested  character.  In  painting, 
reading,  or  writing,  his  mornings  were  occupied,  and  at  night  he 
was  at  the  service  of  his  friends.  Beneath  his  humble  roof,  in 
his  latter  years,  there  were  often  a  flow  of  wit,  a  community  of 
mind,  and  a  generous  exercise  of  sympathy  which  kings  might 
envy.  To  the  eye  of  the  multitude  his  life  glided  away  in  se- 
cluded contentment,  yet  a  prevailing  idea  was  the  star  of  his 
being  —  the  idea  of  beauty.  For  the  high,  the  lovely,  the  per- 
fect, he  strove  all  his  days.  He  sought  them  in  the  scenes  of 
nature,  in  the  masterpieces  of  literature  and  art,  in  habits  of 
life,  in  social  relations,  and  in  love.  Without  pretence,  without 
elation,  in  all  meekness,  his  youthful  enthusiasm  chastened  by 
suffering,  he  lived  above  the  world.  Gentleness  he  deemed  true 
wisdom,  renunciation  of  all  the  trappings  of  life  a  duty.  He 
was  calm,  patient,  occasionally  sad,  but  for  the  most  part  happy 
in  the  free  exercise  and  guardianship  of  his  varied  powers.  His 
sonnets  are  interesting  as  records  of  personal  feeling.  They 
eloquently  breathe  sentiments  of  intelligent  admiration  or  sin- 
cere friendship  ;  while  the  Sylphs  of  the  Season  and  other  longer 


CHAP.  III.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  345 

poems  show  a  great  command  of  language  and  an  exuberant 
fancy.* 

581.  John  Pierpont  (       )  wrote   numerous  hymns   and   odes 
for  religious  and  national  occasions,  remarkable  for  their  va- 
riety of  difficult  metres,  and  for  the  felicity  both  of  the  rhythm, 
sentiment,    and    expression.      His   Airs    of  Palestine,    a    long 
poem  in  heroic  verse,  has  many  eloquent  passages;  and  several 
of  his  minor  pieces,  especially  those  entitled  Passing  Aiv  ay  and 
My  Child,  are  striking  examples  of  effective  versification.     The 
most  popular  of  his  occasional  poems  is  The  Pilgrim  Fathers, 
an  ode  written  for  the  anniversary  of  the  landing  at  Plymouth, 
and  embodying  in  truly  musical  verse  the  sentiment  of  the -mem- 
orable day. 

582.  Richard  H.   Dana  (       )    is   the   most  psychological   of 
American   poets.     His  Buccaneer  has   several   descriptive  pas- 
sages  of  singular  terseness   and   beauty,   although  there  is  a 
certain  abruptness  in  the  metre  chosen.     The  scenery  and  phe- 
nomena of  the  ocean  are  evidently  familiar  to  his  observation ; 
the  tragic  and  remorseful  elements  in  humanity  exert  a  powerful 
influence  over  his  imagination ;  while  the  mysteries  and  aspira- 
tions  of  the  human  soul  fill  and  elevate  his  mind.     The  result 
is  an  introspective  tone,  a  solemnity  of  mood  lightened  occa- 
sionally by  touches  of  pathos  or  beautiful  pictures.     There  is  a 
compactness,    a  pointed  truth   to   the   actual,    in    many  of   his 
rhymed  pieces,  and  a  high  music  in   some  of  his  blank  verse, 
which  suggest  greater  poetical  genius  than  is  actually  exhibited. 
His  taste  evidently  inclines  to  Shakspeare,  Milton,  and  the  old 
English  dramatists,  his  deep  appreciation  of  whom  he  has  man- 
ifested in  the  most  subtile  and  profound  criticisms.    Of  his  minoi 
pieces,  the  Intimations  of  Immortality  and   The  Little  Bcach- 
Bird  are  perhaps  the  most  characteristic  of  his  two  phases  of 
expression. 

583.  James  A.  Hillhouse  (       )  excelled  in  a  species  of  poetic 
literature,   which,   within   a  few  years,   has  attained  eminence 
from   the  fine   illustrations   of  Taylor,  Browning,  Home,  Tal- 
fourd.  and  other  men  of  genius  in  England.     It  may  be  called 
the  written  drama,  and,  however  unfit  for  representation,  is  un- 
surpassed for  bold,  noble,  and  exquisite  sentiment  and  imagery. 
The  name  of  Hillhouse  is  associated  with  the  beautiful  elms  of 

*  Artist-Life,  or  Sketches  of  American  Painters, 


346  A  SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  III. 

New  Haven,  beneath  whose  majestic  boughs  he  so  often  walked. 
His  home  in  the  neighborhood  of  this  rural  city  was  consecrated 
bj  elevated  tastes  and  domestic  virtue.  He  there,  in  the  inter- 
vals of  business,  led  the  life  of  a  true  scholar;  and  the  me- 
morials of  this  existence  are  his  poems,  Hadad,  The  Judgment, 
Percy's  Masque,  Demetria,  and  others.  In  the  two  former,  his 
scriptural  erudition  and  deep  perceptions  of  the  Jewish  char- 
acter, and  his  sense  of  religious  truth,  are  evinced  in  the  most 
carefully  finished  and  nobly-conceived  writings.  Their  tone  is 
lofty,  often  sublime;  the  language  is  finely  chosen,  and  there  is 
about  them  evidence  of  gradual  and  patient  labor  rare  in  Amer- 
ican literature.  On  every  page  we  recognize  the  Christian 
scholar  and  gentleman,  the  secluded  bard,  and  the  chivalric 
student  of  the  past.  Percy's  Masque  reproduces  the  features  of 
an  era  more  impressed  with  knightly  character  than  any  in  the 
annals  of  England.  Hillhouse  moves  in  that  atmosphere  quite 
as  gracefully  as  among  the  solemn  and  venerable  traditions  of 
the  Hebrew  faith.  His  dramatic  and  other  pieces  are  the  first 
instances,  in  this  country,  of  artistic  skill  in  the  higher  and 
more  elaborate  spheres  of  poetic  writing.  He  possessed  the 
scholarship,  the  leisure,  the  dignity  of  taste,  and  the  noble  sym- 
pathy requisite  thus  to  "build  the  lofty  rhyme;"  and  his  vol- 
umes, though  unattractive  to  the  mass  of  readers,  have  a 
permanent  interest  and  value  to  the  refined,  the  aspiring,  and 
the  disciplined  mind. 

584.  Charles  Sprague  (  )  has  been  called  the  Rogers  of 
America;  and  there  is  an  analogy  between  them  in  two  respects 
—  the  careful  finish  of  their  verses,  and  their  financial  occupa- 
tion. The  American  poet  first  attracted  notice  by  two  or  three 
theatrical  prize  addresses;  and  his  success,  in  this  regard,  at- 
tained its  climax  in  a  Shakspcare  Ode  which  grouped  the  char- 
acters of  the  great  poet  with  an  effect  so  striking  and  happy, 
and  in  a  rhythm  so  appropriate  and  impressive,  as  to  recall  the 
best  efforts  of  Collins  and  Dryden  united.  A  similar  composi- 
tion, more  elaborate,  is  his  ode  delivered  on  the  second  centen- 
nial anniversary  of  the  settlement  of  Boston,  his  native  city. 
A  few  domestic  pieces,  remarkable  for  their  simplicity  of  ex- 
pression and  truth  of  feeling,  soon  became  endeared  to  a  large 
circle;  but  the  performance  which  has  rendered  Sprague  best 
known  to  the  country  as  a  poet  is  his  metrical  essay  on  Curiosi- 
ty, delivered  in  1829  before  the  literary  societies  of  Harvard  Uni- 


CHAP.  III.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  347 

versity.  It  is  written  in  heroic  measure,  and  recalls  the  couplets 
of  Pope.  The  choice  of  a  theme  was  singularly  fortunate.  lie 
traces  the  passion  which  "  tempted  Eve  to  sin"  through  its  lof- 
tiest and  most  vulgar  manifestations ;  at  one  moment  rivalling 
Crabbe  in  the  lowliness  of  his  details,  and  at  another  Campbell 
in  the  aspiration  of  his  song.  The  serious  and  the  comic  alter- 
nate on  every  page.  Good  sense  is  the  basis  of  the  work ;  fan- 
cv,  wit,  and  feeling  warm  and  vivify  it;  and  a  nervous  tone  and 
finished  versification,  as  well  as  excellent  choice  of  words,  im- 
part a  glow,  polish,  and  grace  that  at  once  gratify  the  ear  and 
captivate  the  mind. 

585.  James  G.  Percival  (  )  has  been  a  copious  writer  of 
verses,  some  of  which,  from  their  even  and  sweet  flow,  their 
aptness  of  epithet  and  natural  sentiment,  have  become  house- 
hold and  school  treasures;  such  as  The  Coral  Grove,  Neiv Eng- 
land, and  Seneca  Lake.  His  command  both  of  language  and 
metre  is  remarkable  ;  his  acquirements  were  very  extensive  and 
various,  and  his  life  eccentric.  Perhaps  a  facile  power  of  ex- 
pression has  tended  to  limit  his  poetic  fame,  by  inducing  a  dif- 
fuse, careless,  and  unindividual  method ;  although  choice  pieces 
enough  can  easily  be  gleaned  from  his  voluminous  writings  to 
constitute  a  just  and  rare  claim  to  renown  and  sympathy. 

58G.  The  poems  of  Fitz-Greene  Halleck  (  ),  although  limited 
in  quantity,  are,  perhaps,  the  best  known  and  most  cherished, 
especially  in  the  latitude  of  New  York,  of  all  American  verses. 
This  is  owing,  in  no  small  degree,  to  their  spirited,  direct,  and 
intelligible  character,  the  absence  of  all  vagueness  and  mysti- 
cism, and  the  heartfelt  or  humorous  glow  of  real  inspiration; 
and  in  a  measure,  perhaps,  it  can  be  traced  to  the  prestige  of 
his  youthful  fame,  when,  associated  with  his  friend  Drake,  he 
used  to  charm  the  town  with  the  admirable  local  verses  that 
appeared  in  the  journals  of  the  day,  under  the  signature  of 
Croaker  and  Co.  His  theory  of  poetic  expression  is  that  of  the 
most  popular  masters  of  English  verse  —  manly,  clear, -vivid, 
warm  with  genuine  emotion,  or  sparkling  with  true  wit.  Thj 
more  recent  style  of  metrical  writing,  suggestive  rather  than 
emphatic,  undefined  and  involved,  and  borrowed  mainly  from 
German  idealism,  he  utterly  repudiates.  All  his  verses  have  a 
vital  meaning,  and  the  clear  ring  of  pure  metal.  They  are  few, 
but  memorable.  The  school-boy  and  the  old  Knickerbocker 
both  know  them  by  heart.  In  his  serious  poems  he  belongs  to 


348  A   SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  ill. 

the  same  school  as  Campbell,  and  in  his  lighter  pieces  reminds 
us  of  Beppo  and  the  best  parts  of  Don  Juan,  fanny,  con- 
ceived in  the  latter  vein,  has  the  point  of  "a  fine  local  satire 
gracefully  executed.  Burns,  and  the  lines  on  the  death  of 
Drake,  have  the  beautiful  impressiveness  of  the  highest  elegiac 
verse.  Marco  Bozzaris  is  perhaps  the  best  martial  lyric  in  the 
language,  Red  Jacket  the  most  effective  Indian  portrait,  and 
Twilight  an  apt  piece  of  contemplative  verse ;  while  Alnwick 
Castle  combines  his  grave  and  gay  style  with  inimitable  art  and 
admirable  effect.  As  a  versifier,  he  is  an  adept  in  that  relation 
of  sound  to  sense  which  embalms  thought  in  deathless  melody. 
An  unusual  blending  of  the  animal  and  intellectual  with  that 
full  proportion  essential  to  manhood,  enables  him  to  utter  ap- 
peals that  wake  responses  in  the  universal  heart.  An  almost 
provoking  mixture  of  irony  and  sentiment  is  characteristic  of 
his  genius.  Born  in  Connecticut,  his  life  has  been  chiefly  passed 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  occupied  in  mercantile  affairs. 
He  is  a  conservative  in  taste  and  opinions,  but  his  feelings  are 
chivalric,  and  his  sympathies  ardent  and  loyal;  and  these,  alter- 
nating with  humor,  glow  and  sparkle  in  the  most  spirited  and 
harmonious  lyrical  compositions  of  the  American  muse. 

587.  "  Centuries  hence,  perchance,  some  lover  of  '  The  Old 
American  Writers '  will  speculate  as  ardently  as  Monkbarns 
himself  about  the  site  of  Sleepy  Hollow.  Then  the  Hudson 
will  possess  a  classic  interest,  and  the  associations  of  genius  and 
patriotism  may  furnish  themes  to  illustrate  its  matchless  sce- 
nery. Imagination  is  a  perverse  faculty.  Why  should  the  ruins 
of  a  feudal  castle  add  enchantment  to  a  knoll  of  the  Catskills? 
Are  not  the  Palisades  more  ancient  than  the  aqueducts  of  the 
Roman  Campagna?  Can  bloody  tradition  or  superstitious  le- 
gends really  enhance  the  picturesque  impression  derived  from 
West  Point?  The  heart  forever  asserts  its  claim.  Primeval 
nature  is  often  coldly  grand  in  the  view  of  one  who  loves  and 
honors  his  race ;  and  the  outward  world  is  only  brought  near  to 
his  spirit  when  linked  with  human  love  and  suffering,  or  con- 
secrated by  heroism  and  faith.  Yet,  if  there  ever  was  a  stream 
romantic  in  itself,  superior,  from  its  own  wild  beauty,  to  all  ex- 
traneous charms,  it  is  the  Hudson.  Who  ever  sailed  between 
its.  banks  and  scanned  its  jutting  headlands  —  the  perpendicular 
cliffs — the  meadows  over  which  alternate  sunshine  and  cloud 
-•  umbrageous  woods,  masses  of  gray  rock,  dark  cedar  groves, 


CHAP.  III.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  349 

bright  grain  fields,  tasteful  cottages,  and  fairy-like  sails;  who, 
after  thus  feasting  both  sense  and  soul  through  a  summer  day, 
has,  from  a  secluded  nook  of  those  beautiful  shores,  watched 
the  moon  rise  and  tip  the  crystal  ripples  with  light,  and  not 
echoed  the  appeal  of  the  bard  ?  — 

'  Tell  me,  where'er  thy  silver  bark  be  steering, 

By  bright  Italian  or  soft  Persian  lands, 
Or  o'er  those  island-studded  seas  careering, 

Whose  pearl-charged  waves  dissolve  on  coral  strands ; 
Tell,  if  thou  visitest,  thou  heavenly  rover, 
A  lovelier  scene  than  this  the  wide  world  over.'  * 

"It  was  where 

4  The  moon  looks  down  on  old  Cro'nest, 
And  mellows  the  shade  on  his  shaggy  breast,' 

that  Drake  laid  the  scene  of  his  poem,  The  Culprit  Fay.  The 
story  is  of  simple  construction.  The  fairies  are  called  together, 
at  this  chosen  hour,  not  to  join  in  dance  or  revel,  but  to  sit  in 
judgment  on  one  of  their  number  who  has  broken  his  vestal 
vow.  Evil  sprites,  both  of  the  air  and  water,  oppose  the  Fay 
in  his  mission  of  penance.  He  is  sadly  baffled  and  tempted,  but 
at  length  conquers  all  difficulties,  and  his  triumphant  return  is 
hailed  with  '  dance  and  song,  and  lute  and  lyre.' 

588.  "  There  are  various  tastes  as  regards  the  style  and  spirit 
of  different  bards ;  but  no  one,  having  the  slightest  perception, 
will  fail  to  realize  at  once  that  the  Culprit  Fay  is  a  genuine 
poem.  This  is,  perhaps,  the  highest  of  praise.  The  mass  of 
versified  compositions  are  not  strictly  poems.  Here  and  there 
only  the  purely  ideal  is  apparent.  A  series  of  poetical  fragments 
are  linked  by  rhymes  to  other  and  larger  portions  of  common- 
place and  prosaic  ideas.  It  is  with  the  former  as  with  moon- 
beams falling  through  dense  foliage  —  they  only  checker  our 
path  with  light.  '  Poetry,'  says  Campbell,  '  should  come  to  us 
in  masses  of  ore,  that  require  little  sifting.'  The  poem  before 
us  obeys  this  important  rule.  It  is  '  of  imagination  all  com- 
pact.' It  takes  us  completely  away  from  the  dull  level  of  ordi- 
nary associations.  As  the  portico  of  some  beautiful  temple, 
through  it  we  are  introduced  into  a  scene  of  calm  delight,  where 
Fancy  asserts  her  joyous  supremacy,  and  wooes  us  to  forgetful- 
ness  of  all  outward  evil,  and  to  fresh  recognition  of  the  lovely 
in  nature,  and  the  graceful  and  gifted  in  humanity."! 

*  Hoffman's  Moonlight  on  the  Hudson, 
f  Thoughts  on  the  Poets. 


350  A  SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  III. 

589.  For  some  of  the  best  convivial,  amatory,  and  descriptive 
poetry  of  native  origin,  \ve  are  indebted  to  Charles  Fenno  Hoff- 
man. (       )     The  woods  and  streams,  the  feast  and  the  \agil,  are 
reflected  in  his  verse  with  a  graphic  truth  and  sentiment  that 
evidence  an  eye  for  the  picturesque,  a  sense  of  the  adventurous, 
and  a  zest  for  pleasure.     He  has  written  many. admirable  scenic 
pieces  that  evince  not  only  a  careful,  but  a  loving  observation 
of  nature  :  some  touches  of  this  kind  in  the  Vigil  of  Faith  are 
worthy  of  the  most  celebrated  poets.     Many  of  his  songs,  from 
their  graceful  flow  and  tender  feeling,  are  highly  popular,  al- 
though some  of  the  metres  are  so  like  those  of  Moore  as  to  pro- 
voke  a   comparison.     They  are,    however,   less    tinctured  with 
artifice;   and  many  of  them  have  a  spontaneous  and   natural 
vitality. 

590.  The  Scripture  pieces  of  N.  P.  Willis,  (        )  although  the 
productions  of  his  youth,   have  an  individual  beauty  that  ren- 
ders them  choice  and  valuable  exemplars  of  American  genius. 
In  his  other  poems  there  is  apparent  a  sense  of  the  beautiful 
and  a  grace  of  utterance,  often  an  exquisite  imagery,  and  rich 
tone  of  feeling,  that  emphatically  announce  the  poet;  but  in  the 
chastened  and  sweet,  as  well  as  picturesque  elaboration  of  the 
miracles  of  Christ,  and  some  of  the  incidents  recorded  in  the 
Bible,  Willis  succeeded  in  an  experiment  at  once  bold,  delicate, 
and  profoundly  interesting.    Mclanie  is  a  narrative  in  verse,  full 
of  imaginative  beauty  and  expressive  music.     The  high  finish, 
rare  metaphors,  verbal  felicity,  and  graceful  sentiment  of  his 
poems  are  sometimes  marred  by  a   doubtful  taste  that  seems 
affectation ;  but  where  he  obeys  the  inspiration  of  nature  and 
religious  sentiment,  the  result  is  truly  beautiful. 

591.  Henry  W.  Longfellow  (        )  has  achieved  an  extended 
reputation  as  a  poet,  for  which  he  is  chiefly  indebted  to  his  phil- 
ological aptitudes  and  his  refined  taste.     Trained  as  a  verbal 
artist  by  the  discipline  of  a  poetical   translator,  he  acquired  a 
tact  and  facility  in  the  use  of  words,  which  great  natural  fluency 
and  "extreme  fastidiousness  enabled  him  to  use  to  the  utmost 
advantage.     His  poems  are  chiefly  meditative,  and  have  that 
legendary  significance   peculiar  to  the  German  ballad.     They 
also  often  embody  and  illustrate  a  moral  truth.     There  is  little 
or  no  evidence  of  inspiration  in  his  verse,  as  that  term  is  used 
to  suggest  the  power  of  an  overmastering  passion;  but  there  is 
a  thoughtful,  subdued  feeling  that  seems  to  overflow  in  quiet 


CHAP.  III.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  351 

beauty.  It  is,  however,  the  manner  in  which  this  sentiment  is 
expressed,  the  appositeness  of  the  figures,  the  harmony  of  the 
numbers,  and  the  inimitable  choice  of  words  that  give  effect  to 
the  composition.  He  often  reminds  us  of  an  excellent  mosaic 
worker,  with  his  smooth  table  of  polished  marble  indented  to 
receive  the  precious  stones  that  are  lying  at  hand,  which  he 
calmly,  patiently,  and  with  exquisite  art,  inserts  in  the  shape  of 
flowers  and  fruit.  Almost  all  Longfellow's  poems  are  gems  set 
with  consummate  taste.  His  Evangeline  is  a  beautiful  reflex  of 
rural  life  and  love,  which,  from  the  charm  of  its  pictures  and 
the  gentle  harmony  of  its  sentiment,  became  popular,  although 
written  in  hexameters.  His  Skeleton  in  Armor  is  the  most  novel 
and  characteristic  of  his  shorter  poems;  and  his  Psalms  of  Life 
and  Excelsior  are  the  most  familiar  and  endeared.  He  is  the 
artistic,  as  Halleck  is  the  lyrical  and  Bryant  the  picturesque  and 
philosophical,  of  American  poets. 

5'J2.  The  most  concise,-apt,  and  effective  poet  of  the  school  of 
Pope,  this  country  has  produced,  is  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,  (  ) 
a  Boston  physician,  and  son  of  the  excellent  author  of  the  An- 
nals, long  a  minister  of  the  parish  of  Cambridge,  at  which  ven- 
erable seat  of  learning  this  accomplished  writer  was  born.  His 
best  lines  are  a  series  of  rhymed  pictures,  witticisms,  or  senti- 
ments, let  off  with  the  precision  and  brilliancy  of  the  scintil- 
lations that  sometimes  illumine  the  northern  horizon.  The 
significant  terms,  the  perfect  construction,  and  acute  choice  of 
syllables  and  emphasis,  render  some  passages  of  Holmes  abso- 
lute models  of  versification,  especially  in  the  heroic  measure. 
Besides  these  artistic  merits,  his  poetry  abounds  with  fine  satire, 
beautiful  delineations  of  nature,  and  amusing  caricatures  of 
manners.  The  long  poems  are  metrical  essays,  more  pointed, 
musical,  and  judicious,  as  well  as  witty,  than  any  that  have  ap- 
peared, of  the  same  species,  since  the  Essay  on  Man  and  The 
Dtinciad.  His  description  of  the  art  in  which  he  excels  is  inimi- 
table, and  illustrates  all  that  it  defines.  His  Old  Ironsides  — 
an  indignant  protest  against  the  destruction  of  the  frigate  Con- 
stitution —  created  a  public  sentiment  .that  prevented  the  fulfil- 
ment of  that  ungracious  design.  His  verses  on  Lending  an  old 
Punch  Bowl  are  in  the  happiest  vein  of  that  form  of  writing. 
About  his  occasional  pieces,  there  is  an  easy  and  vigorous  tone 
like  that  of  Praed;  and  some  of  them  are  the  liveliest  specimens 
of  finished  verse  yet  written  among  us.  His  command  of  Ian- 


352  A  SKETCH  OF  CIIAP. 


: 


guage,  his  ready  wit,  his  concise  and  pointed  style,  the  nervo 
bright,  and  wise  scope  of  his  muse,  now  and  then  softened  by  a 
pathetic  touch,  or  animated  by  a  living  picture,  are  qualities 
that  have  firmly  established  the  reputation  of  Dr.  Holmes  as  a 
poet,  while  in  professional  character  and  success  he  has  been 
equally  recognized. 

593.  James    R.    Lowell,  (       )  also   a    native  of    Cambridge, 
unites,   in   his   most  effective   poems,   the    dreamy,    suggestive 
character  of  the  transcendental  bards  with  the  philosophic  sim- 
plicity of  Wordsworth.     He   has  written   clever   satires,    good 
sonnets,  and  some  long  poems  with  fine  descriptive  passages. 
He  reminds  us  often  of  Tennyson,  in  the  sentiment  and  the  con- 
struction of  his  verse.     Imagination  and  philanthropy  are  the 
dominant  elements  in  his  writings,  some  of  which  are  marked 
by  a  graceful  flow  and  earnest  tone,  and  many  unite  with  these 
attractions  that  of  high  finish. 

594.  George  H.  Boker,  the  author  of  Calaynos,  Anne  Bolcyn, 
and  other  dramatic  pieces,  is  a  native  and  resident  of  Philadel- 
phia.    "  The  glow  of  his  images  is  chastened  by  a  noble  sim- 
plicity, keeping  them  within  the  line  of  human   sympathy  and 
natural  expression.     He  has  followed  the  masters  of  dramatic 
writing  with  rare  judgment.     lie  also  excels  many  gifted  poets 
of  his  class  in  a  quality  essential  to  an  acted  play —  spirit.      To 
the  tragic  ability  he  unites  aptitude  for  easy,  colloquial,  and 
jocose  dialogue,  such  as  must  intervene  in  the  genuine  Shak- 
spearian    drama,    to   give    relief  and   additional   effect   to    high 
emotion.    His  language,  also,  rises  often  to  the  highest  point  of 
energy,  pathos,  and  beauty." 

595.  A  casual  dalliance  with  the  Muses  is  characteristic  of  our 
busy  citizens,  in  all  professions ;   some  of  these  poetical  estrays 
have  a  permanent  hold  upon  the  popular  taste  and  sympathy. 
Among  them    may  be  mentioned  Frisbie's    Castle  in    the  Air, 
Norton's  Scene  after  a  Summer  Shoiver,  Henry  Ware's  Address 
to  the  Ursa  Major,  Pinkney's  verses  entitled  A  Health,  Palmer's 
ode    to  Light,   Poe's  Raven    and    The  Bells,   Cooke's  Florence 
Vane,  Parsons's  Lines  to  a  Bust  of  Dante,  Wilde's  My  Life  is 
like  a  Summer  Rose,  Albert  G.  Greene's  Old  Grimes,  Butler's 
Nothing  to  Wear,  and  Woodworth's  Old  Oaken  Bucket.  (       ) 

596.  Extensive  circulation   is  seldom  to  be  hoped  for  works 
which  appeal  so  faintly  to  the  practical  spirit  of  our  times  and 
people  as  the  class  we  have  thus  cursorily  examined.     Yet,  did 


CHAP.  III.          AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  353 

space  allow,  we  should  be  tempted  into  a  somewhat  elaborate 
argument,  to  prove  that  the  cordial  reception  of  such  books 
agrees  perfectly  with  genuine  utilitarianism.  As  a  people,  it  is 
generalljr  conceded  that  we  lack  nationality  of  feeling.  Narrow 
reasoners  may  think  that  this  spirit  is  best  promoted  by  absurd 
sensitiveness  to  foreign  comments  or  testy  alertness  in  regard 
to  what  is  called  national  honor.  We  incline  to  the  opinion, 
founded  on  well-established  facts,  both  of  history  and  human 
nature,  that  the  best  way  to  make  an  individual  true  to  his  po- 
litical obligations  is  to  promote  his  love  of  country;  and  experi- 
ence shows  that  this  is  mainly  induced  by  cherishing  high  and 
interesting  associations  in  relation  to  his  native  land.  Every 
well-recorded  act  honorable  to  the  state,  every  noble  deed  con- 
secrated by  the  effective  pen  of  the  historian,  or  illustrated  in  the 
glowing  page  of  the  novelist,  tends  wonderfully  to  such  a  result. 
Have  not  the  hearts  of  the  Scotch  nurtured  a  deeper  patriotism 
since  Sir  Walter  cast  into  the  furrows  of  time  his  peerless 
romances?  No  light  part  in  this  elevated  mission  is  accorded 
to  the  poet.  Dante  and  Petrarch  have  done  much  to  render 
Italy  beloved.  Beranger  has  given  no  inadequate  expression  to 
those  feelings  which  bind  soldier,  artisan,  and  peasant  to  the 
soil  of  France.  Here  the  bard  can  draw  only  upon  brief  chron- 
icles, but  God  has  arrayed  this  continent  \vith  a  sublime  and 
characteristic  beauty,  that  should  endear  its  mountains  and 
streams  to  the  American  heart;  and  whoever  ably  depicts  the 
natural  glory  of  the  country  touches  a  chord  which  should  yield 
responses  of  admiration  and  loyalty.  In  this  point  of  view 
alone,  then,  we  deem  the  minstrel  who  ardently  sings  of  forest 
and  sky,  river  and  highland,  as  eminently  worthy  of  recognition. 
This  merit  may  be  claimed  for  Alfred  B.  Street,  of  Albany,  (  ) 
who  was  born  and  reared  amid  the  most  picturesque  scenery  of 
the  State  of  New  York.  Street  has  an  eye  for  Nature  in  all  her 
moods.  He  has  not  roamed  the  woodlands  in  vain,  nor  have 
the  changeful  seasons  passed  him  by  without  leaving  vivid  and 
lasting  impressions.  These  his  verse  records  with  unusual 
fidelity  and  genuine  emotion.  Like  a  true  Flemish  painter, 
he  seizes  upon  objects  in  all  their  verisimilitude.  As  we 
read  him,  wild  flowers  peer  up  from  among  the  brown  leaves; 
the  drum  of  the  partridge,  the  ripple  of  waters,  the  flicker- 
ing of  autumn  light,  the  sting  of  sleety  snow,  the  cry  of  the  pan- 
ther, the  roar  of  the  winds,  the  melody  of  birds,  and  the  odor 
23 


354  A   SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  III. 

of  crushed  pine  boughs,  are  present  to  our  senses.  In  a  foreign 
land  his  poems  would  transport  us  at  once  to  home.  lie  is  no 
second-hand  limner,  content  to  furnish  insipid  copies,  but  draws 
from  reality.  His  pictures  have  the  freshness  of  originals.  They 
are  graphic,  detailed,  never  untrue,  and  often  vigorous.  He  is 
essentially  an  American  poet.  His  range  is  limited,  and  he  has 
had  the  good  sense  not  to  wander  from  his  sphere,  candidly  ac- 
knowledging that  the  heart  of  man  has  not  furnished  him  the 
food  for  meditation  which  inspires  a  higher  class  of  poets.  He 
is  emphatically  an  observer.  In  England  we  notice  that  these 
qualities  have  been  recognized.  His  Lost  Hunter  has  been 
finely  illustrated  there,  thus  affording  the  best  evidence  of  the 
picturesque  fertility  of  his  muse.  Many  of  his  pieces  also  glow 
with  patriotism.  His  Gray  forest  Eagle  is  a  noble  lyric,  full 
of  spirit;  his  Forest  Scenes  are  minutely,  and  at  the  same  time 
elaborately,  true.  His  Indian  legends  and  descriptions  of  the 
seasons  have  a  native  zest  we  have  rarely  encountered.  Without 
the  classic  refinement  of  Thomson,  he  excels  him  in  graphic 
.power.  There  is  nothing  metaphysical  in  his  tone  of  mind,  or 
highly  artistic  in  his  style.  But  there  are  an  honest  directness 
and  cordial  faithfulness  about  him  that  strike  us  as  remarkably 
appropriate  and  manly.  Delicacy,  sentiment,  ideal  enthusiasm, 
are  not  his  by  nature;  but  clear,  bold,  genial  insight  and  feeling 
he  possesses  in  a  rare  degree,  and  his  poems  worthily  depict  the 
phases  of  Nature,  as  she  displays  herself  in  this  land,  in  all  her 
picturesque  wildness,  solemn  magnificence,  and  serene  beauty. 

597.  To  the  descriptive  talent  as  related  to  natural  scenery, 
which  we  have  noted  as  the  gift  of  our  best  poets,  John  G.  Whit- 
tier  (  )  unites  the  enthusiasm  of  the  reformer  and  the  sym- 
pathies of  the  patriot.  There  are  a  prophetic  anathema  and  a 
bard-like  invocation  in  some  of  his  pieces.  He  is  a  true  son  of 
New  England,  and,  beneath  the  calm,  fraternal  bearing  of  the 
Quaker,  nurses  the  imaginative  ardor  of  a  devotee  both  of  na- 
ture and  humanity.  The  early  promise  of  Brainard,  (  )  his. 
fine  poetic  observation  and  sensibility,  enshrined  in  several 
pleasing  lyrics,  and  his  premature  death,  are  analogous  to  the 
career  of  Henry  Kirke  White.  John  Neal  has  written  some 
odes,  carelessly  put  together,  but  having  memorable  passages. 
Emerson  has  published  a  small  volume  of  quaint  rhymes;  Cros- 
wcll  wrote  several  short  but  impressive  church  poems,  in  which 
he  has  been  ably  followed  by  Cleveland  Cox;  Bayard  Taylor's 


CHAP.  III.          AMERICAS  LITERATURE.  355 

California  ballads  are  full  of  truth,  spirit,  and  melody,  and  his 
<%  Picture  of  St.  John  "  is  a  melodious  and  graphic  metrical  tale  ; 
Albert  Pike,  of  Arkansas,  is  the  author  of  a  series  of  hymns  to 
the  gods,  after  the  manner  of  Keats,  which  have  justly  com- 
manded favorable  notice ;  Willis  G.  Clarke  is  remembered  for 
his  few  but  touching  and  finished  elegiac  pieces.  Epes  Sargent's 
Poems  of  the  Sea  are  worthy  of  the  subject,  both  in  sentiment 
and  style.  F.  S.  Key,  of  Baltimore,  was  the  author  of  the  Star- 
Spangled  Banner,  and  Judge  Hopkinson,  of  Philadelphia,  wrote 
Hail,  Columbia.  George'  P.  Morris,  (  )  among  the  honored 
contributors  to  American  poetry,*  whose  pieces  are  more  or  less 
familiar,  is  recognized  as  the  song-writer  of  America. 

598.  A  large  number  of  graceful  versifiers,  and  a  few  writers 
of  poetical  genius,  have  arisen  among  the  women  of  America. 
Southey  has  recorded,  in  no  measured  terms,  his  estimation  of 
Mrs.  Brooks,  the  author  of  Zophicl.  The  sentiment  and  mel- 
ody of  Mrs.  Welby  have  made  the  name  of  Amelia  precious  in 
the  west.  Mrs.  Sigourney's  metrical  writings  are  cherished  by 
a  large  portion  of  the  New  England  religious  public.  (  )  The 
Sinless  Child  of  Mrs.  Oakes  Smith  is  a  melodious  and  imagina- 
tive poem,  with  many  verses  of  graphic  and  metaphysical 
significance.  The  occasional  pieces  of  Mrs.  Embury,  Mrs. 
Whitman,  Mrs.  Hewitt,  and  Miss  Lynch  are  thoughtful,  ear- 
nest, and  artistic.  The  facility,  playfulness,  and  ingenious 
conception  of  Mrs.  Osgood  (  )  rendered  her  a  truly  gifted 
improwisatrice.  Miss  Gould  has  written  several  pretty  fanciful 
little  poems,  and  Miss  Sara  Clark's  Ariadne  is  worthy  of  Mrs. 
Norton.  The  Davidsons  are  instances  of  rare  though  melan- 
choly precocity  in  the  art.  The  moral  purity,  love  of  nature, 
domestic  affection,  and  graceful  expression  which  characterize 
the  writings  of  our  female  poets,  are  remarkable.  Many  of 
them  enjoy  a  high  local  reputation,  and  their  effusions  are 
quoted  with  zeal  at  the  fireside.  Taste  rather  than  profound 
sympathies,  sentiment  rather  than  passion,  and  fancv  more  than 
imagination,  are  evident  in  these  spontaneous,  gentle,  and  often 

*  Amnns  them  are  Hill,  Godwin,  Mellen,  Griffin,  Ware,  Doane,  Colton,  Rockwell,  Sanford, 
Ward,  Gallagher,  Aldrich,  J.  F.  Clarke,  Hosmer,  Burleigh,  Noble,  Hirst,  Head,  Matthews,  Lord, 
Wallace,  Legare,  Miller,  Walter,  Eastburn,  Barker,  Sehooleraft,  Tappan,  Jackson,  Meek,  Seba 
Smith.  Thuuher,  Peabody.  tilery,  Channiug,  Snelling,  Murray,  Fay,  C.  C.  Moore,  J.  G.  Brooks, 
A.  G.  Greene,  Bethime,  Carlos  Wilcox,  Fmbie,  Goodrich,  Ciason,  Lcggett,  Fairtield,  Dawes, 
Bright,  Conrad,  Prentice,  Sinnns,  John  II.  Bryant,  Lawrence,  Benjamin,  Very,  Cutler,  Crancli, 
Stcaduian,  liuutingtun,  Saxe,  Dewey,  Fields,  lloyt,  Jjtoduard. 


356  A  SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  III. 

picturesque  poems.  They  usually  are  more  creditable  to  the 
refinement  and  pure  feelings,  than  to  the  creative  power  or 
original  style  of  the  authors.  Among  a  reading  people,  how- 
ever, like  our  own,  these  beautiful  native  flowers,  scattered  by 
loving  hands,  are  sweet  mementos  and  tokens  of  ideal  culture 
and  gentle  enthusiasm,  in  delightful  contrast  to  the  prevailing 
hardihood  and  materialism  of  character.* 

599.  In  the  felicitous  use  of  native  materials,  as  well  as  in  the 
religious  sentiment  and  love  of  freedom,  united  with  skill  as  an 
artist,  William  Cullen  Bryant  is  recognized  as  the  best  repre- 
sentative of  American  poetry ;  and  we  cannot  better  close  this 
brief  survey  of  native  literature  than  by  an  examination  of  his 
poems ;  in  which  the  traits  of  our  scenery,  the  spirit  of  our  in- 
stitutions, and  the  devotional  faith  that  proved  the  conservative 
element  in  our  history,  are  all  consecrated  by  poetic  art. 

(iOO.  The  first  thought  which  suggests  itself  in  regard  to  Bry- 
ant is  his  respect  for  the  art  which  he  has  so  nobly  illustrated. 
This  is  not  less  commendable  than  rare.  To  subserve  the 
objects  of  party,  to  acquire  a  reputation  upon  which  office 
may  be  sought,  and  to  gratify  personal  ambition,  the  American 
poet  is  often  tempted  to  sacrifice  his  true  fame  and  the  dignity 
of  Art  to  the  demands  of  Occasion.  To  this  weakness  Bryant 
has  been  almost  invariably  superior.  He  has  preserved  the  ele- 
vation which  he  so  early  acquired.  He  has  been  loyal  to  the 
Muses.  At  their  shrine  his  ministry  seems  ever  free  and  sacred, 
wholly  apart  from  the  ordinai-y  associations  of  life.  With  a  pure 
heart  and  a  lofty  purpose  has  he  hymned  the  glory  of  Nature 
and  the  praise  of  Freedom.  To  this  we  cannot  but,  in  a  great 
degree,  ascribe  the  serene  beauty  of  his  verse.  The  mists  of 
•worldly  motives  dim  the  clearest  vision,  and  the  sweetest  voice 

*  For  a  very  complete  and  interesting  survey  of  this  class  of  writings,  the  reader  is  referred  tt> 
Griswold's  Female  1'oets  of  America.  His  list  comprises  nearly  a  hundred  names;  the  bio- 
graphical sketches  afford  a  good  insight  into  the  domestic  culture  of  the  nation;  and  the  speci- 
mens are  various,  and  often  beautiful,  including,  besides  the  writers  of  colonial  and  revolution- 
ary times,  and  those  already  mentioned,  the  names  of  Miss  Townsend,  Mrs.  Gilman,  Mrs.  Hale, 
Mrs.  Wells,  Miss  James,  Mrs.  Ward,  Mrs.  Ware,  Mrs.  Gray,  Mrs.  Little,  Mr?.  Child,  Mrs.  Hall, 
-Mrs.  Follen,  Mrs.  Green,  Miss  Taggart,  Mrs.  Cantield,  Miss  Bogart,  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Brooks,  MM. 
Loud,  Mrs.  Chandler,  Mrs.  Barnes,  Mrs.  Kinney,  Mrs.  Ellctt,  Mrs.  Scott,  Mrs.  Dimiies,  Mrs. 
Stephens,  Mrs.  St.  John,  Mrs.  L.  P.  Smith,  Mrs.  Oliver,  Miss  Mary  E.  Lee,  Mrs.  Esling,  Mrs. 
Sawyer,  Mrs.  Bailey,  Mrs.  Thurston,  Miss  Day,  Mrs.  Dodd,  Mrs.  Judson,  Mrs.  Eunies,  Mrs. 
Emetine  Smith,  Miss  Fuller,  Mrs.  Pierson,  Mr*.  Worthiugton,  Mrs.  Lesvis,  Mrs.  Mowatt.  .Mrs. 
M'Donahl,  Lucy  Hooper,  Mrs.  Mnyo,  Miss  Jacobs,  Mrs.  Case,  Mrs.  Bolton,  Miss  Woodman, 
Mrs.  Nichols,  Mrs.  Wakelicld,  Miss  E.  Lee,  Miss  Susan  Pindar,  Caroline  May,  Mrs.  Xi-al,  Mrs. 
fiproat.  Mrs.  Winslow,  Miss  Campbell,  Miss  Bayard,  Miss  Luicoiu,  Edith  May,  Alice  uiici  1'iio.bo 
Couy,  iliss  L-'awsoii,  Mrs.  Lowell,  aid  ilLis  Piiiiiips. 


CHAP.  III.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  357 

falters  amid  the  strife  of  passion.  As  the  patriarch  went  forth 
alone  to  muse  at  eventide,  the  reveries  of  genius  have  been  to 
Bryant  holy  and  private  seasons.  They  are  as  unstained  by  the 
passing  clouds  of  this  troubled  existence  as  the  skies  of  his  own 
"  Prairies  "  by  village  smoke. 

G01.  Here,  where  Nature  is  so  magnificent,  and  civil  institu- 
tions so  fresh,  where  the  experiment  of  republicanism  is  going 
on,  and  each  individual  must  think,  if  he  do  not  work,  Poetry, 
to  illustrate  the  age  and  reach  its  sympathies,  should  be  thought- 
ful and  vigorous.  It  should  minister  to  no  weak  sentiment,  but 
foster  high,  manly,  and  serious  views.  It  should  identify  itself 
with  the  domestic  affections,  and  tend  to  solemnize  rather  than 
merely  adorn,  existence.  Such  are  the  natural  echoes  of  Amer- 
ican life,  and  they  characterize  the  poetry  of  Bryant. 

(502.  Bryant's  love  of  Nature  gives  the  prevailing  spirit  to  his 
poetry.  The  feeling  with  him  seems  quite  instinctive.  It  js  not 
sustained  by  a  metaphysical  theory,  as  in  the  case  of  Words- 
worth, while  it  is  imbued  with  more  depth  of  pathos  than  is 
often  discernible  in  Thomson.  The  feeling  with  which  he  looks 
upon  the  wonders  of  Creation  is  remarkably  appropriate  to  the 
scenery  of  the  New  World.  His  poems  convey,  to  an  extraordi- 
nary degree,  the  actual  impression  which  is  awakened  by  our 
lakes,  mountains,  and  forests.  We  esteem  it  one  of  Bryant's 
great  merits  that  he  has  not  only  faithfully  pictured  the  beauties, 
but  caught  the  very  spirit,  of  our  scenery.  His  best  poems  have 
an  anthem-like  cadence,  which  accords  with  the  vast  scenes  they 
celebrate.  He  approaches  the  mighty  forests,  whose  shadowy 
haunts  only  the  footstep  of  the  Indian  has  penetrated,  deeply 
conscious  of  its  virgin  grandeur.  His  harp  is  strung  in  harmo- 
ny with  the  wild  moan  of  the  ancient  boughs.  Every  moss- 
covered  trunk  breathes  to  him  of  the  mysteries  of  Time,  and 
each  wild  flower  which  lifts  its  pale  buds  above  the  brown  and 
withered  leaves,  whispers  some  thought  of  gentleness.  We  feel, 
when  musing  with  him  amid  the  solitary  woods,  as  if  blessed 
with  a  companion  peculiarly  fitted  to  interpret  their  teachings ; 
and  while  intent,  in  our  retirement,  upon  his  page,  we  are  sensi- 
ble, as  it  were,  of  the  presence  of  those  sylvan  monarchs  that 
crown  the  hill-tops  and  grace  the  valleys  of  our  native  land. 
No  English  park  formalized  by  the  hand  of  Art,  no  legendary 
spot  like  the  pine  grove  of  Ravenna,  surrounds  us.  It  is  not 
the  gloomy  German  forest,  with  its  phantoms  and  banditti,  but 
one  of  those  primal,  dense  woodlands  of  America,  where  the 


858  A   SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  III. 

oak  spreads  its  enormous  branches,  and  the  frost-kindled  leaves 
of  the  maple  glow  like  flame  in  the  sunshine;  where  the  tap  of 
the  woodpecker  and  the  whirring  of  the  partridge  alone  break 
the  silence  that  broods,  like  the  spirit  of  prayer,  amid  the  inter- 
minable aisles  of  the  verdant  sanctuary.  Any  reader  of  Bryant, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  ocean,  gifted  with  a  small  degree  of 
sensibility  and  imagination,  may  derive  from  his  poems  the 
very  awe  and  delight  with  which  the  first  view  of  one  of  our 
majestic  forests  would  strike  his  mind. 

G03.  The  kind  of  interest  with  which  Bryant  regards  Nature 
is  common  to  the  majority  of  minds  in  which  a  love  of  beauty 
is  blended  with  reverence.  This  in  some  measure  accounts  for 
his  popularity.  Many  readers,  even  of  poetical  taste,  are  re- 
pelled by  the  very  vehemence  and  intensity  of  Byron.  They 
cannot  abandon  themselves  so  utterly  to  the  influences  of  the 
outward  world  as  to  feel  the  waves  bound  beneath  them  "  like 
a  steed  that  knows  his  rider;  "  nor  will  their  enthusiasm  so  far 
annihilate  consciousness  as  to  make  them  "  a  portion  of  the 
tempest."  Another  order  of  imaginative  spirits  do  not  greatly 
affect  the  author  of  the  Excursion,  from  the  frequent  baldness 
of  his  conceptions;  and  not  a  few  are  unable  to  see  the  Universe 
tli rough  the  spectacles  of  his  philosophy.  To  such  individuals, 
the  tranquil  delight  with  which  the  American  poet  expatiates 
upon  the  beauties  of  Creation  is  perfectly  genial.  There  is  no 
mystical  lore  in  the  tributes  of  his  muse.  All  is  clear,  earnest, 
and  thoughtful.  Indeed,  the  same  difference  that  exists  between 
true-hearted,  natural  affection  and  the  metaphysical  love  of  the 
Platonists  may  be  traced  between  the  manly  and  sincere  lays  of 
Bryant  and,  the  vague  and  artificial  effusions  of  transcendental 
bards.  The  former  realize  the  definition  of  a  poet  which  de- 
scribes him  as  superior  to  the  multitude  only  in  degree,  not  in 
kind.  He  is  the  priest  of  a  universal  religion,  and  clothes  in 
appropriate  and  harmonious  language  sentiments  warmly  felt 
and  cherished.  He  requires  no  interpreter.  There  is  nothing 
eccentric  in  his  vision.  Like  all  human  beings,  the  burden  of 
daily  toil  sometimes  weighs  heavily  on  his  soul;  the  noisy  ac- 
tivity of  common  life  becomes  hopeless;  scenes  of  inhumanity, 
error,  and  suffering  grow  oppressive,  or  more  personal  causes 
of  despondency  make  "  the  grasshopper  a  burden."  Then  he 
turns  to  the  quietude  and  beauty  of  Nature  for  refreshment. 
There  he  loves  to  read  the  fresh  tokens  of  creative  beneficence. 
The  scented  air  of  the  meadows  cools  his  fevered  brow.  The 


CHAP.  III.  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.  359 

umbrageous  foliage  sways  benignly  around  him.  Vast  pros- 
pects expand  his  thoughts  beyond  the  narrow  circle  of  worldly 
anxieties.  The  limpid  stream,  upon  whose  banks  he  wandered 
in  childhood,  reflects  each  fleecy  cloud,  and  soothes  his  heart  as 
the  emblem  of  eternal  peace.  Thus  faith  is  revived ;  the  soul 
acquires  renewed  vitality,  and  the  spirit  of  love  is  kindled  again 
at  the  altar  of  God.  Such  views  of  Nature  are  perfectly  accor- 
dant with  the  better  impulses  of  the  heart.  There  is  nothing 
in  them  strained,  unintelligible,  or  morbid.  They  are  more  or 
less  familiar  to  all,  and  are  as  healthful  overflowings  of  our  na- 
ture as  the  prayer  of  repentance  or  the  song  of  thanksgiving. 
They  distinguish  the  poetry  of  Bryant,  and  form  one  of  its 
dominant  charms. 

GO-t.  Bryant  is  a  graphic  poet,  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word. 
He  has  little  of  the  excessive  detail  of  Street,  or  the  homely  ex- 
actitude of  Crabbe.  Mis  touches,  like  his  themes,  are  usually 
on  a  grander  scale,  yet  the  minute  is  by  no  means  neglected. 
It  is  his  peculiar  merit  to  deal  with  it  wisely.  Enough  is  sug- 
gested to  convey  a  strong  impression,  and  often  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  a  single  circumstance,  the  mind  is  instantly  enabled  to 
complete  the  picture.  It  is  difficult  to  select  examples  of  his 
power  in  this  regard.  The  opening  scene  from  A  Winter  Piece 
is  as  picturesque  as  it  is  true  to  fact. 

605.  Bryant  is  eminently  a  contemplative  poet.  His  thoughts 
are  not  less  impressive  than  his  imagery.  Sentiment,  except 
that  which  springs  from  benevolence  and  veneration,  seldom 
lends  a  glow  to  his  pages.  Indeed,  there  is  a  remarkable  absence 
of  those  spontaneous  bursts  of  tenderness  and  passion  which 
constitute  the  very  essence  of  a  large  portion  of  modern  verse. 
He  has  none  of  the  spirit  of  Campbell,  or  the  narrative  spright- 
liness  of  Scott.  The  few  humorous  attempts  he  has  published 
are  unworthy  of  his  genius.  Love  is  merely  recognized  in  his 
poems;  it  rarely  forms  the  staple  of  any  composition.  His 
strength  obviously  consists  in  description  and  philosophy.  It  is 
one  advantage  of  this  species  of  poetry  that  it  survives  youth, 
and  is,  by  nature,  progressive.  Bryant's  recent  poems  are  fully 
equal,  if  not  superior,  to  any  he  has  written.  With  his  inimi- 
table pictures  there  is  ever  blended  high  speculation,  or  a  reflec- 
tive strain  of  moral  command.  Some  elevating  inference  or 
cheering  truth  is  elicited  from  every  scene  cpnsecrated  by  his 
muse.  A  noble  simplicity  of  language,  combined  with  these 
traits,  often  leads  to  the  most  genuine  sublimity  of  expression. 


360  A   SKETCH  OF  CHAP.  III. 

606.  In  The  Fountain,  after  a  descriptive  sketch  that  brings 
its  limpid  flow  and  flowery  banks  almost  palpably  before  us,  how 
exquisite  is  the  chronicle  that  follows  !     Guided  by  the  poet,  we 
behold  that  gushing  stream,  ages  past,  in  the  solitude  of  the  old 
woods,  when  canopied  by  the  hickory  and  plane,  the  humming- 
bird playing  amid  its  spray,  and  visited  only  by  the  wolf,  who 
comes  to  "  lap  its   waters,"  the  deer  who  leaves  her  "  delicate 
footprint"  on  its  marge,  and  the  "  slow-paced  bear  that  stopped 
and  drank,  and  leaped  across."     Then  the  savage  war-cry  drowns 
its  murmur,  and  the  wounded  foeman  creeps   slowly  to  its  brink 
to  "slake  his  death-thirst."     Ere  long  a  hunter's  lodge  is  built, 
"  with  poles  and  boughs,  beside  the  crystal  well,"  and  at  length 
the  lonely  place  is  surrounded  with  the  tokens  of  civilization. 
Thus  the  minstrel,  even 

"From  the  gushing  of  a  simple  fount, 
Has  reasoned  to  the  mighty  universe." 

607.  The  very  rhythm  of  the  stanzas   To  a  Waterfowl  gives 
the    impression  of  its  flight.     Like   the  bird's   sweeping  wing, 
they  float  with  a  calm,  and  majestic  cadence  to  the  ear.     We  see 
that   solitary  wanderer  of  the    "cold   thin    atmosphere;"    we 
watch,  almost  with  awe,  its  serene  course,  until   "  the  abyss  of 
heaven  has  swallowed  up  its  form,"  and  then  gratefully  echo  the 
bard's  consoling  inference. 

608.  But  it  is  unnecessary  to  cite  from  pages  so  familiar;  or 
we  might  allude  to  the  grand  description  of  Freedom,  and  the 
beautiful  Hymn  to  Death  as   among   the  noblest  specimens  of 
modern  verse.     The  great  principle  of  Bryant's  faith  is  that 


"  Eternal  Love  doth  keep 
In  his  complacent  arms  the  earth,  the  air,  the  deep." 


609.  To  set  forth,  in  strains  the  most  attractive  and  lofty,  thi 
glorious  sentiment,  is  the  constant  aim  of  his  poetry.  Gifted 
must  be  the  man  who  is  loyal  to  so  high  a  vocation.  From  the 
din  of  outward  activity,  the  vain  turmoil  of  mechanical  life,  it 
is  delightful  and  ennobling  to  turn  to  a  true  poet,  —  one  who 
scatters  flowers  along  our  path,  and  lifts  our  gaze  to  the  stars, 
—  breaking,  by  a  word,  the  spell  of  blind  custom,  so  that  we 
recognize  once  more  the  original  glory  of  the  universe,  and  hear 
again  the  latent  music  of  our  own  souls.  This  high  service  has 
Bryant  fulfilled.  It  will  identify  his  memory  with  the  loveliest 
scenes  of  his  native  land,  and  endeaj:  it  to  her  children  forever, 


NOTE   TO  AMERICAN  LITEEATUEE.         361 


NOTE 

• 

TO   SKETCH   OF   AMERICAN  LITERATURE. 

610.  To  the  works  of  American  authors  above  enumerated, 
the  fifteen  years  which  have  since  elapsed  have  added  character- 
istic and  valuable  materials.     Bancroft's  History  of  the  United 
States  has  now  reached  its  ninth  volume,  which  brings  the  record 
far  into  the  epoch  of  the  Revolution.    Emerson  has  added  Eng- 
lish Traits,  and   The  Conduct  of  Life,  to  his  series  of  essays ; 
Longfellow,     Hiawatha,    Miles    Standish,    The    Wayside    Inn, 
Flower  de  Luce,  and  a  translation  of  Dante's  Divina  Commedia 
to  his  poetical  writings.     Holmes  has  written  a  new  volume  of 
essays  and  a  novel.    Donald  G.  Mitchell  has  given  to  the  public 
two  pleasant  volumes  of  rural  essays,  My  Farm  at  Edge-wood, 
and  Wet  Days  at  Edge-wood,  a  book  of  Traveller's  Tales,  and 
a  novel  of  New  England  Life  —  Dr.  Johns.    Bayard  Taylor  has 
published    two   American    stories,   Plannah    Thiirston,  and   the 
Story  of  Kenneth,    and  two  poems,    The  Poefs  Story,  and  The 
Picture  of  St.  John.     Sabine  and  Lossing  have  continued  their 
popular  historical  labors;  Bushnell  added  to  his  philosophical 
exposition  of  religious  and  social  subjects;  Higginson  and  Park- 
man  in  prose,  and  Bryant,  Whittier  and  Halleck  in  poetry,  con- 
tributed new  writings  to  the  nation's  stock ;  while  to  the  previous 
excellent  translations  of  the  masterpieces  of  German  literature 
by  Charles  T.  Brooks,  are  to  be  added  the  Titan  and  Hesperus 
of  Richter,  the  humorous  Jobsiad,  and  Goethe's  Faust. 

611.  Henry  James  has  published  a  religious  and  metaphysical 
treatise  called  Substance  and  Shadow  ;  George   H.  Calvert,  a 
new  volume  of  foreign  travel  and  sojourn,  entitled  First  Tears 
in  Europe,  and  an   interesting  essay,  The  Gentleman.     William 
W.  Story  has  embodied  in  a  work  with  the  title  Roba  di  Roma, 
the  results  of  long  and  patient  observation  of  the  habits,  cus- 
toms, and  normal  aspects  of  the  Eternal  City;  and  William  D. 
Howell  gives  us   a  charming  record  of  'Venetian  Life.    James 
Jackson  Jarves,  in  two  substantial  volumes,  Art  Studies,  and  the 


362      NOTE   TO  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.    CHAP.  III. 

Art  Idea,  has  imparted  much  general  historical  information  and 
aesthetic  philosophy  in  regard  to  the  fine  arts.  Saxe,  Aldrich, 
Street,  Stoddard,  Mrs.  Howe,  Mrs.  Aken,  Alice  Carey,  and  other 
poetical  writers  have  added  fresh  volumes  to  the  library  of  Amer- 
ican verse;  while  in  the  departments  of  educational  literature, 
political  disquisition,  theology,  science,  popular  and  juvenile 
books,  adapted  to  wants  of  a  vast  and  wide-spread  population, 
the  supply  of  new  and  desirable  works  has  been  constant,  and, 
for  the  most  part,  creditable  to  the  average  taste,  love  of  knowl- 
edge, and  prevalent  intelligence  and  rectitude. 

012.  Since  the  preceding  Sketch  was  written,  the  obituary  rec- 
ord of  our  authors  has  withdrawn  some  of  the  earliest  and  most 
endeared.  Washington  Irving  died  on  the  28th  of  November, 
1859,  in  *-ne  ripeness  °f  his  age  and  fame,  having,  but  a  few 
months  previous,  finished  the  Life  of  Washington  —  his  last  and 
appropriate  labor  of  love  in  the  field  of  native  literature.  To 
the  complete  edition  of  his  writings,  revised  by  his  own  hand  in 
the  pleasant  autumn  of  his  life,  and  received  by  his  countrymen 
with  renewed  evidences  of  sympathy  and  respect,  have  been 
added,  since  his  decease,  two  volumes  of  uncollected  papers  con- 
sisting of  Spanish  legends,  early  contributions  to  the  newspaper 
press,  and  a  few  personal  memoirs  and  reminiscences.  William 
Hickling  Prescott  closed  his  brief  but  brilliant  literary  career  on 
the  28th  of  January,  1859.  His  last  historical  work,  Philip  //., 
was  left  unfinished.  James  Paulding  did  not  long  survive  the 
old  friend  and  literary  comrade  with  whom  he  wrote  Salma- 
gundi:  and  the  best  of  this  pioneer  author's  writings  will  soon 
be  published  in  a  revised  and  uniform  series. 

613.  Theodore  Parker  died  in  Florence,  Italy,  May  10,  1860. 
His   latest  work  is  entitled  Theodore  Parker's  Experience  as  a 
Minister,  with  some  Account  of  his  Early  Life  and  Education  for 
the  Ministry —  an  autobiographical  narrative  which  throws  much 
light  on  the   early  influences   and  original  endowments  whose 
combination  led  eventually  to  his  peculiar  opinions  and  original 
course   as  a  reformer  and  theologian.     For  a  complete  under- 
standing of  his  career  and  character,  however,  which  in  many 
respects  were  exceptional,  a  perusal  of  his  life  and  correspon- 
dence is  requisite. 

614.  Edward  Everett,  after  the  issue  of  three  substantial  vol- 
umes of  orations,  which,  in  view  of  both  topics  and  treatment, 
way  be  justly  regarded  as  of  national  value  and  significance,  at 


NOTE   TO  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.         363 

the  age  of  sixty  traversed  the  United  States  to  deliver  his  ora- 
tion on  the  character  of  Washington,  for  the  twofold  patriotic 
purpose  of  allaying  the  sectional  animosity  which  afterwards 
culminated  in  civil  war,  and  to  raise  the  funds  requisite  for  the 
purchase  of  Mount  Vernon  —  the  home  and  tomb  of  Wash- 
ington. During  the  civil  conflict  the  eloquent  voice  and  pen  of 
Everett  were  constantly  pleading  and  protesting  for  the  Union, 
and,  crowned  with  this  final  work  of  honor  and  patriotism,  he 
died  on  the  I5th  of  January,  1865. 

615.  Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  since  the  previous  mention  of  his 
writings,  passed  a  year  in  Italy,  and  gave  to  the  public  the  grace- 
ful fruit  of  that  sojourn  in  one  of  his  most  beautiful  and  charac- 
teristic romances  —  the  Marble  Faun.     After  relinquishing  the 
consulship    at   Liverpool,    and    returning   to   Concord,   Massa- 
chusetts, the   results   of  his   observation   and   reflection   during 
several   years'  residence   in  England   appeared    in   a   delightful 
volume  of  local  sketches  entitled  Our  Old  Home  —  in  style,  in- 
sight, descriptive  skill  and  quiet  humor,  worthy  of  his  artistic  pen 
and  genial  yet  subtile  observation.     Hawthorne  died  at  Plym- 
outh,   New  Hampshire,   May  19,   1864,  while  on  a  journey  for 
his  health,  which  had  gradually  failed.     He  left  a  story  of  Eng- 
lish life  unfinished,  and  the  passages  from  his  note-books  which 
have  appeared  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  since  his  death  indicate 
the  thoughtfulness  with  which  he  contemplated  even  the  most 
familiar  phenomena  of  life  and  nature,  and  the  elaborate  study 
•whereby  he  prepared  himself  to  interpret  and  illustrate  them. 
The  wayward  yet  studious  career  of  Pcrcival  terminated  in  Illi- 
nois, soon  after  his  geological  survey  of  Wisconsin,  May  2,  1856. 
Many  of  his  poems  have  obtained  a  merited  popularity;   and  the 
eccentricities  growing  out  of  his   sensitive   organization,  inde- 
pendent spirit,  and  scientific  zeal,  are  well  set  forth  in  the  re- 
cently published  Life  and  Letters  of  the   gifted  but  perverse 
poet. 

616.  To  this  list  of  the  eminent  departed  must  be  added  the 
names  of  many  of  our  clergy  who  enjoyed  and  exerted  a  literary 
as  well  as  religious  influence — such  as  Dr.  Edward  Hitchcock, 
Dr.    Robinson,    Francis    Wayland,  George    Bush,    Clement    C. 
Moore,  Dr.  Alexander,  Pise,  C.  W.  Upham,  George  W.  Bethune, 
Dr.   Baird,  Starr  King,  John    Pierpont,  and  others,  as  well   as 
several  useful  and  respected  female  authors  ;v  among  them,  Mrs. 
Caroline  Kirkland,  Mrs.  Sigourney,  Mrs.  Farnham,  Hannah  F. 


3G4         NOTE   TO  AMERICAN  LITERATURE. 

Gould,  Alice  B.  Haven,  Mrs.  Emma  C.  Embury,  Mrs.  Farrar, 
Miss  Leslie,  and  Miss  Maria  Cummins;  with  a  number  of  mis- 
cellaneous writers,  whose  labors  illustrated  special  subjects,  as 
Schoolcraft,  in  aboriginal  history  and  ethnology.  Goodrich  in 
popular  education,  and  Walsh  and  Buckingham  in  editorial  es- 
says; Theodore  Sedgwick,  Horace  Mann,  Hildreth,  Benjamin, 
Choate,  Kettell,  Dr.  Francis,  Josiah  Quincy,  and  G.  L.  Duyckink. 
617.  During  the  interval  which  has  elapsed,  "and  notwithstand- 
ing a  civil  conflict  of  four  years,  unparalleled  in  history  for  pat- 
riotic self-devotion  and  the  lavish  sacrifice  of  life  and  treasure  to 
reassert  and  vindicate  forever  the  integrity  of  the  nation,  sev- 
eral new  and  important  additions  have  been  made  to  our  cata- 
logue of  able  and  honored  authors  and  of  standard  works  in 
native  literature.  John  Lothrop  Motley  has  gained  a  European 
reputation  by  his  History  of  the  Dutch  Republic  and  of  the 
Netherlands  —  works  of  elaborate  research  and  artistic  finish, 
written  with  an  earnest  sympathy  in  the  struggles  of  those  who 
laid  the  foundations  of  civil  and  religious  freedom,  and  with  a 
force  and  grace  of  style  both  appropriate  and  attractive.  A  val- 
uable addition  to  this  department  also  is  the  History  of  jJVew 
England,  by  John  Gorham  Palfrey,  wherein  is  evident  much 
original  research  and  a  more  comprehensive  and  vivid  treatment 
than  had  before  been  given  to  the  subject.  In  the  sphere  of 
philology  and  economical  science,  George  P.  Marsh  has  written 
with  erudition  and  efficiency :  his  History  and  Origin  of  the 
English  Language,  his  Lectures  on  the  English  Language,  and 
his  treatise  entitled  Man  and  Nature,  have  been  recognized  as 
singularly  able  and  suggestive  works  on  both  sides  of  the  ocean. 
In  popular  biography  James  Parton  has  won  deserved  distinction 
by  the  thoroughness  of  his  investigation,  and  the  dramatic  form 
of  his  delineation ;  his  lives  of  Burr,  Jackson,  and  Franklin 
are  read  and  relished  by  thousands.  William  R.  Alger's  His- 
tory of  the  Doctrine  of  a  Future  Life,  is  the  most  complete,  cu- 
rious, and  interesting  work  of  its  kind  which  has  appeared  in 
our  country.  Robert  S.  Lowell  has  published  a  local  romance 
of  freshness  and  picturesque  attraction,  and  several  expressive 
poems;  Edward  S.  Rand,  Jr.,  a  pleasant  and  useful  series  of 
horticultural  works ;  John  Milton  Mackie,  two  or  three  sprightly 
and  graceful  books  of  travel ;  and  the  lamented  Dr.  Kane,  a  most 
successful  narrative  of  his  arctic  adventures.  One  of  the  most 
individual  of  the  American  authors  who  have  become  known  to 


NOTE   TO  AMERICAN  LITERATURE.          365 

fame  since  the  preceding  record  was  written,  is  Henry  D.  Tho- 
reau.  intimately  known  and  highly  esteemed  by  a  few  near 
neighbors  and  friends  during  his  life,  including  Emerson  and 
Hawthorne.  It  is  only  since  his  death,  which  occurred  May  7, 
1862,  that  his  peculiar  traits  have  been  generally  recognized 
throu'gh  his  writings.  He  aspired  to  a  life  of  frugal  indepen- 
dence and  moral  isolation,  and  carried  out  the  desire  with  sin- 
gular heroism  and  patience.  His  experience  as  a  hermit  on  the 
Concord  River,  his  observant  excursions  to  the  woods  of  Maine, 
the  sands  of  Cape  Cod,  and  other  native  scenes,  rarely  explored 
by  such  curious  and  loving  eyes,  have  a  remarkable  freshness 
of  tone  and  fulness  of  detail;  while  on  themes  of  a  social  and 
political  nature  his  comments  are  those  of  a  bold  and  ardent  re- 
former. Few  books  possess  a  more  genuine  American  scope 
and  flavor  than  Thoreau's. 

G18.  Gail  Hamilton  has  become  a  household  word  in  New 
England  as  the  noni  de plume  of  a  trenchant  and  graphic  female 
essayist;  and  Trowbridge  has  gained  popularity  as  an  American 
story-teller.  J.  G.  Holland  has  proved  one  of  the  most  success- 
ful of  American  authors,  if  pecuniary  results  and  popularity 
may  be  regarded  as  the  test.  Long  engaged  in  the  editorial 
charge  of  a  New  England  daily  newspaper,  and  brought  into 
intimate  contact  with  the  people,  their  tastes  and  wants  seem  to 
have  been  remarkably  appreciated  by  this  prolific  literary  pur- 
veyor thereto.  He  has  written  novels,  poems,  lectures,  and  es- 
says, founded  on  or  directed  to  the  wants  and  tendencies  of  life 
and  nature  in  New  England,  and  reflecting,  with  great  authen- 
ticity, the  local  peculiarities,  natural  phases,  and  characteristic 
qualities  of  the  region  and  the  people. 

t!19.  Although  the  war  for  the  Union  elicited  many  memora- 
ble utterances  in  the  form  of  logical  discussion,  eloquent  appeal 
and  invective,  graphic  narration,  and  lyric  pathos  or  power, 
perhaps  it  revealed  no  more  interesting  literary  phenomena 
than  the  advent  of  a  young  writer  of  romance  previously  quite 
unappreciated.  A  vivid  sketch  which  Theodore  Winthrop  wrote 
cf  the  march  of  the  Seventh  Regiment  from  New  York  to  Bal- 
timore on  the  outbreak  of  the  rebellion,  first  awakened  public 
attention  to  his  spirit  and  skill  as  a  raconteur ;  and  when,  a  few 
months  later,  he  gallantly  laid  down  his  young  life  for  his  coun- 
try, the  writings  which  had  vainly  sought  a  publisher  while  he 
IJved  were  hailed  by  a  host  of  sympathetic  readers  as  the  liter- 


306         NOTE   TO  AMERICAN  LITERATURE. 

ary  legacy  of  a  youthful  martyr.  This  natural  reaction  from 
indifference  to  eulogy  was  not,  however,  a  mere  tribute  to  valor 
and  fealty.  The  chivalrous  nature  and  artistic  sympathies  of 
Major  Winthrop,  his  love  of  adventure,  his  narrative  skill,  and 
a  certain  dramatic  fire,  are  embodied  and  embalmed  in  these 
volumes  of  travel  and  romance  in  a  manner  full  of  high  literary- 
promise  and  genuine  personal  interest. 


IOEX 

OF  AUTHORS   IN  ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 


A. 

AcMison,  Joseph,  199-203. 

Ml-A-iC,   20. 

M  fric,  another,  20. 

Akenside,  Mark,  237. 

Alcuin,  22. 

Al.red,  king,  19;  his  trans- 
lation of  Bede,  19. 

Ancren  Riwle,  the,  23. 

Angles,  16. 

Anglo-Saxon,  date  of  its 
change  into  English,  16. 

Anglo-Saxon  language,  n, 
14. 

Anglo-Saxon  poetry,  the 
vernacular,  16. 

Anglo-Saxon  prose,  the 
vernacu  ar,  19. 

Anglo-Saxons,  n. 

Ansjlm,  29. 

Arbuthnot,  Dr.  John,  194. 

Ar.len.  Isabella,  mo.h.r  of 
Sh  ikspeare,  90. 

Armstrong,  John,  240. 

Arnold,  Dr.  Thomas,  2< 

Ascham,  Roger,  63. 

Asscr,  Bishop.  21. 

AttL-rbury.  Bishop,  204. 

Austen,  Miss,  291. 


B. 

Bacon,  Francis,  117-123. 

B  icon.  Rogsr,  29. 

B  ildwin,  Richard,  66. 

Bile,  79. 

Billads,  28,  249. 

B  arbour,  52.  64. 

Barcl  i.y,  Alexander,  59. 

Barrow,  Isaac,  176. 

Battle  of  Finnesbur.;,  17. 


Baxter,  Richard,  136. 

Butler,  Samuel,  148—150. 

Beattie,  James,  234. 

Byron,  Lord,  258-263. 

Beaumont,  109. 

Beckford,  William,  293. 

Bede,  17,  19,  21. 

c. 

B-ill,  Currer.     See  Bronte. 

Bentham,  Jeremy,  308. 
Bentley,  Richard,  204. 

Csedmon,    monk  of  Whit- 

by,  17. 

Beowulf,  Lay  of,  17. 

Camden,  William,  124. 

Berkeley.  Bishop,  206. 
Berners,  Lord,  63. 

Campbell,  Dr.  George,  233. 
Campbell,  Thomas,  272. 

Bible,    English  translation 

Canute,  24. 

o£  5* 

Carew,  Thomas,  127. 

Blackstone,     Sir    William, 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  297. 

233- 

Caxion,  58. 

Blackwood's  Magazine,  305. 

Celtic  dialect,  10. 

Blair,  Robert,  234. 

Celtic  writers,  19. 

Blind  Harry,  64. 

Celts,  9-12.. 

Bolingbroke,  Viscount,  205. 

Chapman,  George,  74,  89. 

Borron,  29. 

Chntterton,  Thomas,  242. 

Boswell,  James,  228. 

Chaucer.  Geoffr  -v,  31-46. 

Bowles,  Caroline,  274. 

Ch  st.-rfielcl,  E:<rl  or,  233. 

Boyle    and    Bontky   Con- 

Chiliing^vortli, Wm..  132. 

troversy,  204. 

Christianity,  conversion  of 

Boyle,  Robert,  181. 

Anglo-Saxons  to,  n. 

Britons,  9. 

Chronicle,  th?  Saxon,  20. 

Bronte,  Charlotte,  292. 

Chronicles.  Metrical,  29. 

Broome,  William,  184. 

Churchill,  Charles,  247. 

Brough:;m.  Lord,  304. 
Browne,  Sir  Thomas,  133. 

Clarenr'on,  Earl  of,  159-161. 
Coleridge,    Samuel  Taylor 

Browne,  William,  72. 

278. 

Browning,  Mrs.,  274. 

Collins,  William,  236. 

Brunanburh  War  Song,  17. 
Brut  d'Anglet'  rre,  25. 

Collier,  Jeremy,  169. 
Congreve.  William,  167. 

Buckinghim,  Duke  of,  173. 

Cotton,  Charhs,  161. 

Banyan,  John,  157-159. 
Burke,  Edmund,  229. 

Coverdale,  Miles.  64. 
Cowley,  A'-rr.h.im.  130,  131. 

Burnct,  Gilbert,  181. 

Cowpcr,  William,  238.    < 

Bunijt,  Thomas,  181. 

Crabbe,  G  orge,  243. 

Burney,  Frances,  2^6. 

Crashaw,  Richard,  126,  127. 

Burns,"  Robert,  244. 

Crowns,  John,  171. 

Burton,  Robert,  123,  124. 

Cu  'worth,  Ralpli,  167. 

Butkr,  Bishop,  231. 

Cymry,  10,  17. 

(367) 

308 


INDEX  TO  ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 


D. 

Frere,  John  Hookham,  270.     Hobbes,  Thomas,  156,  157. 

Froissnrt,      Chronicle     of,     Hollinsbed,  Raphael,  us. 

Daniel,  Samuel,  71,  124. 

translated  into  English, 

Home,  John,  248. 

Danish  invasion,  n. 

63- 

Hood,  Thomas,  273. 

Darwin,  Erasmus,  240. 

Fuller,  Thomas,  133. 

Hook,  Theodore,  292. 

Davenant,  Sir  William,  129. 

Fust,  58. 

Hooker,  Richard,  116. 

Davies,  Sir  John,  74. 

Hope,  Thomas,  294. 

Deductive  Method,  120. 

Hume,  David,  221. 

Defo2,  Daniel,  208-210. 

G. 

Hunt,  James  Henry  Leigh, 

Dekker,  Thomas,  113. 

271. 

Denham,  Sir  John,  130. 
Ds  Quincey,  Thomas,  307. 

Gait,  Luke,  29. 
Gait,  John,  291. 

Huxley,  304. 
Hyde.  Edward.     See  Clai- 

Donne,  John,  73,  125. 

Garth,  Sir  Samuel,  197. 

tudou. 

Dorset,  Earl  of,  173. 

Gascoyne,  George,  73. 

Douglas,  Gawin,  64. 

Gaskell,  Mrs.,  292. 

I. 

Drama,  English,  its  origin, 

75- 

Gay,  John.  196. 
Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  26. 

Inductive  method,  119-121. 

Drayton,  Michael,  71. 

G^sta  Romanorum,  42,  51. 

Interludes,  the,  77. 

Drydcn,  John,  150-156. 
Dunbar,  William,  64. 

Gibbon,  Edward,  223. 
Gifford,  William,  305. 

Ireland,     William,    Henry, 
243- 

Dyer,  John,  247. 

Godwin,  William,  287. 

Goldsmith,  Oliver,  218. 

J. 

Gower,  43,  49-52. 

E. 

Grainger,  James,  240. 

ames,  G.  P.  R.,  286. 

Grammaticus.     See  ./Elfric. 

ames  I.  of  Scotland,  56. 

Earle,  John,  123. 

Gray,  Thomas,  237. 

ean  de  Meun,  35. 

EOg-worth,  Maria,  290. 

Green,  Matthew,  234. 

effrey,  Francis,  305. 

Edinburgh  Review,  304. 
Edwards,  Richard,  79. 

Greene,  Robert,  77,  87. 
Grimoald,  Nicholas,  62. 

ohn  of  Trevisa,  53. 
ohn  of  Salisbury,  29. 

Egbert,  Archbishop,  22. 

Grote,  George,  298. 

ohnson,  Samuel,  225. 

Eiiz  ibethan  Age,  66,  115. 

Guillaume  de  Lorris,  35. 

onson,  Ben,  106. 

English    Language,    divis- 

Gutenberg, 58. 

uclith,  1  8. 

ions  of,  16. 

ulius  Caesar,  9. 

English,      origin     of     the 

unius,  Letters  of,  231. 

name,     15  ;     history    of 

H. 

language,    15. 

Ethelred,  22. 

Habington,  William,  128. 

K. 

Ethelweard,  22. 

Halts,  Alexander,  29. 

Etherege,  Sir  George,  164. 

Hales.  John,  132. 

Kames,  Lord,  233. 

Evelyn,  John,  161. 

Hall,  63. 

Keats,  John,  269. 

Hall,  Joseph,  73. 
Hallam,  Henry,  300. 

Knolles,  Richard,  124, 
Kyd,  Thomas,  87. 

F. 

Hamilton,  Sir  William,  303. 

Hardynge,  John,  63. 

Fabliaux,  13,  29,  42,  51. 

Harington,  Sir  John,  74. 

Ii. 

Fabyan,  63. 

Harrington,  James,  163. 

Fairfax,  Edward,  74. 

Harvey,  Gabriel,  67. 

Lamb,  Charles,  306. 

Falconer,  William,  240. 

Hathaway,    Ann,   wife    of 

Landon,  Letitia,  274. 

Farquhar,  George,  166. 

Shakspeare,  91. 

Landor,     Walter     Savage, 

Feltham,  Owen,  123. 

Havelock,  12. 

272. 

Fenton,  Elijah,  184. 
Ferrers,  George,  66. 

Hawes,  Stephen,  59. 
Hemans,  Mrs.,  274. 

Laiiiranc,  29. 
Langlande,  Robert,  48. 

Fi?lding,  Henry,  212. 

Henry  of  Huntingdon,  29. 

Langue-d'Oc,  the,  13. 

Filmer,  Sir  Robert,  163. 
Finnesburh,  Battle  of  (Sax- 

Henryson, Robert,  64. 
Heptarchy.  12. 

Langue-d'Oil,  the,  13. 
Latin   element  in  English 

on  poem),  17. 
Fletcher,  John,  109. 
Fletcher,  Giles,  72. 

Herbert,  George,  126. 
Herbert,  Lord,  124. 
Hereford,  translator  of  the 

language,  10,  12. 
Laureate,  Poets,  309. 
Layamon,  25. 

Fletcher,  Phineas,  72. 

Old  Testament,  53. 

Lee,  Nathaniel,  170. 

Florence  of  Worcester,  29. 

Herrick,  Robert,  127. 

Lewis,   Matthew  Gregory, 

Forcl,  John,  112. 

H'.srs':he).  304. 

285. 

Fcrtiscue,    Chi-f   Justice, 

Heyvrood,  John,  77. 

Lcv.is,   Sir  George  Corns- 

53. 

He)  wood,  Thomas,  114.       '    wall,  298. 

INDEX  TO  ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 


369 


Lillo,  George,  172. 
Lindesay,  Sir  David,  65. 
Literature,     Anglo-Saxon, 

0. 

Occleve,  Thomas,  33,  55. 

Romance  languages,  13. 
Romance  poets,  13. 
Romances,    285   29  ;    their 

in  Latin,   22  ;    influence 

Orra  or  Ormin,  25. 

introduction    into   Eng- 

of foreign  scholars  on,  19. 
Literature,  Old  English,  26. 

Ormulum,  the,  25. 
Otway,  Thomas,  169. 

land  from  France,  13. 
Romances,  metrical,  27. 

Locke,  John,  174-176. 
Lockhart,  John  Gibson,  305. 

Overbury,  Sir  Thomas,  123. 
Owen,  304. 

Roman  invasion,  9. 
Roscommon,  Earl  of,  172. 

Lollius,  38.  . 

Rowe,  Nicholas,  171. 

Lovelace,  Sir  Richard,  127. 

Roy,  Williams,  60. 

Lydgate,  John,  55. 

P. 

Lyell,  304. 
Lyly,  John,  86. 

Paley,  William,  231. 

S. 

Lyttelton,  Lord,  232. 

Parnell,  Thomas,  197. 

Pearson,  John,  178. 

Sackville,  Thomas,  66,  79. 

Pecock,  Bishop,  57. 

Satires,  29. 

M. 

Peele,  George,  87. 

Saxon  element  in  language, 

Pepys,  Samuel,  162. 

II,    12. 

Macaulay,    Thomas    Bab- 

Percy,  Bishop,  249. 

Saxon  invasion,  n. 

ington,  299. 

Philippa  de  Roet,  wife  of 

Saxons,  their  condition  un- 

Macpherson, James,  241. 

Chaucer,  32. 

der  Norman  rule,  12. 

Maculloch,  308. 

Philips,  John,  173,  240. 

Scots,  10. 

Maldon,  Battle  of,  18. 

Phoenicians,  9. 

Scott,  Michael,  296. 

Mallet,  David,  205. 

Picts,  10. 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  250-257. 

Malory,  Sir  Thomas,  58. 

Plegmund,  20. 

Scottish  poetry  in  fifteenth 

Mandeville,  Bernard,  206. 

Poets  Laureate,  309. 

and  sixteenth  centuries, 

Mandeville,  Sir  John,  52. 
Mannyng,  Robert,  26. 

Political  Songs,  27. 
Pomfret,  John,  173. 

56,  64,  65. 
Scotus.  Johannes  Duns,  29. 

Mapes,  Walter,  26. 

Pope,  Alexander,  183-187. 

Semi-  Saxon,  15. 

Marlowe,  Christopher,  87. 
Marston,  John,  74,  114. 
Marryat,  Captain,  295. 

Praed,  270. 
Printing,  its  invention  and 
importation    into    Eng- 

Senior, 308. 
Shadwell,  Thomas,  171. 
Shaftesbury,  Lord,  205. 

Marvel,  Andrew,  156. 

land,  58. 

Shakspeare,    William,    90- 

Massinger,  Philip,  in. 
Matthew  Paris,  29. 

Prior,  Matthew,  195. 
Purvey,  54. 

105. 
Sheffield.       See    Bucking- 

Middleton, Thomas,  114. 

ham. 

Mill,  308. 

Shelley,  Mrs.,  285. 

Milman,  Henry  Hart,  301. 

Q. 

Shelley,  Percy  Bysshe,  267. 

Milton,  John,  137-147. 

Shenstone,  William,  235. 

Minot,  Lawrence,  27. 

Quarles,  Francis,  126. 

Sheridan,    Richard   Brms- 

Miracle  Plays,  75. 

Quarterly  Review,  305. 

ley,  247. 

Mitfotd,  Miss,  293. 

Quiucey,  Thomas  De,  307. 

Sherlock,  William,  179. 

Montagu,  Lady  Mary,  206. 

Shirley,  James,  114. 

Moore,  Thomas,  263-267. 

Sidney,  Philip,  67,  70. 

Moralities,  the,  76. 

B. 

Sidney,  Algernon,  163. 

More,  Henry,  157. 

Skelton,  John,  60. 

More,  Sir  Thomas,  62. 

Radcliffe,  Ann,  285. 

Smith,  Adam,  231. 

Morier,  James,  294. 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  115. 

Smith,  Horace,  271. 

Mysteries  or  Miracles,  75, 

Ralph  Higden,  28. 

Smith,  James,  271. 

76. 

Ramsay,  Allan,  198. 

Smith,  Sydney,  305. 

Ray,  John,  181. 

Smollett,    Tobias    George^ 

IT. 

Reformation,  the,  31,  65. 

214. 

Reviews,    Edinburgh    and 

Somerville,  William,  240. 

Newton,  Sir  Isaac,  180. 

Quarterly,  304,  305. 

South,  Robert,  178. 

Norman  Conquest,   effects 

Ricardo,  308. 

Southerne,  Thomas,  170. 

of,  12,  13. 

Richardson,  Samuel,  210. 

Southey,  Robert,  281. 

Norman  French,  14. 

Robert    of   Brunne.      See 

Southey,  Mrs.,  274. 

Norman  influence  on  Eng- 
lish language  previous  to 

Mannyng. 
Robert  of  Gloucester,  26. 

Southwell,  Robert,  74. 
Spenser,  Edmund,  67-70. 

the  Conquest,  12. 

Robertson,  William,  222. 

Sprat,  Thomas,  179. 

North,   Christopher.      See 

Rochester,  Earl  of,  172. 

Steele,  Sir  Richard,  200. 

Wilson. 

Roger  de  Wendover,  29. 

Sterne,  Laurence,  216. 

Norton,  Thomas,  79. 

Rogers,  Samuel,  271. 

Still,  John,  80. 

24 

370 


INDEX  TO  ENGLISH  LITERATURE. 


Stillingfleet,  Edward,  179. 
St.  John,  Hiinry.      6V^Bo 

lingbroke. 
Stow,  John,  115. 
Suckling,  Sir  John,  127. 
Surrey,  Earl  of,  61,  62. 
Swift,  Jonathan,  187-194. 
Sylvester,  Joshua,  74. 


T. 

Taylor,  Jeremy,  134,  136. 

Temple,  Sir  William,  204. 

Teutonic  race,  parentage 
of  English  nation  traced 
to,  10. 

Thackeray,  William  Make- 
peace, 288. 

Thirlwall,  Bishop,  298. 

Thomson,  James,  234. 

Thrale,  Mrs.,  228. 

Tickell,  Thomas,  107. 

T.llotson,  Archbishop,  178. 

Tottel's  Miscellany,  62. 

Traveller's  Song,  the,  17. 

Travers,  Walter,  n6. 


Trollope,  Mrs.,  293. 
Troubadours,  13. 
Trouveres.  13. 
Tyndal,  William,  64. 


u. 

Udall,  Nicholas,  80. 

V. 

Vanhrugh,  Sir  John,  165. 
Vitalis,  Ordericus,  29. 

"W. 

Wace,  25. 

Waller,  Edmund,  128. 
Walpole,  Horace,  284. 
Walton,  Izaak,  161. 
Warner,  William,  74. 
Warton,   Joseph,  238. 
Warton,  Thomas,  238. 


Webster,  John,  113. 

Werefrith,  20. 

Whately,  Archbishop,  303' 

Whetstone,  George,  79. 

White,  Gilbert,  232. 

White,  Henry  Kirke,  247. 

Wicliffe,  21,  24,  36,  52. 

Wilfred,  22! 

Wilkins,  Dr.  John,  179. 

William    of    Malmesbury, 

29. 

Wiliiam  of  Occam,  29. 
William  of  Poitiers,  29. 
Wilson,    Professor    John, 

291,  306. 

Wither,  George.  126. 
Wordsworth,  William,  275- 

278. 

Wulfstan,  20. 
Wyatt,  Sir  Thomas,  61,  6? 
Wycherley,  William,  164. 


Y. 

Young,  Edwasd,  197. 


INDEX 


OF  AUTHORS   IN  SKETCH   OF  AMERICAN 
LITERATURE. 


A. 

Bird,  Dr.  R.,  341. 

Canfield  Mrs.,  356. 

Birney,  321. 

Carey,  Alice,  317. 

Abbott,  314. 

Bogart,  Miss,  356. 

Carey,  H.  C.,  336. 

Adams,  318. 
Adams,  Hannah,  317. 

Boker,  G.  H.,  352. 
Bolton,  Mrs.,  356. 

Cary,  A.  and  P.,  356. 
Carter,  336. 

Adams.  John  Q.,  320,  336. 
Aken,  Mrs.,  361. 

Bowditch,  Dr.,  336. 
Bowen,  F.,  336. 

Case,  Mrs.,  356. 
Catlin,  336. 

\lclen,  323. 

Bradford,  323. 

Chandler,  Mrs.,  356. 

Vldrich,  355. 

Bradford,  Gov.,  343. 

Channing,  William  Ellery, 

Uexander,  314. 
\!ger,  W.  R.,  364. 
Vllston,  W.,  336,  344. 
Usop,  343. 
Ymes,  I1  isher,  320. 

Bradstreet,  Mrs.,  343. 
Brainard,  354. 
Breckenridge,  337. 
Bright,  355. 
Brooks,  C.  T.,  335,  361. 

3*5- 
Channing,  W.  H.,  335. 
Chauncey,  312. 
Cheever,  N.  E.,  314,  323. 
Child,  Lydia  M.,  317. 

Vnthon,  Prof.,  336. 

Brooks,  J,  G.,  355. 

Choate,  321. 

\udubon,  336. 

Brooks,  Mrs.,  355. 

Clark,  Miss  Sara,  355. 

Austin,  323. 

Brooks,    Mary   E.,    Mrs., 
356. 
Brown,  C.  Brockden,  312, 

Clarke,  314. 
Clarke,  J.  F.,  355: 
Clarke,  W.  G.,  335,  355- 

B. 

337- 

Clason,  355. 

Brownson,  314. 

Clay,  319. 

Bacon,  314. 
Bailey,  Mrs.,  356. 
iaircl,  314. 
'.ancroft,  G.,  312,  324,  361. 

Bryant,  J.  H.,  355. 
Bryant,  W.  C.,  312,  356. 
Buckingham,  323. 
Buckmmster,  314. 

Cleveland  337. 
Cliffton.  W.,  344. 
Coggeshall,  337. 
Colden,  323. 

larker,  355. 
Limes,  314. 

Buell,  Judge,  336. 
Bullions,  P.,  336. 

Coles,  Miss,  317. 
Colman,  H.,  336. 

'•.;rnes,  Mrs.,  356. 
'•arton,  323. 
iayard,  Miss,  356. 

Burgess,  321. 
Burleigh,  355. 
Bush,  314. 

Colton,  336. 
Conrad,  353. 
Cooke,  352. 

hylies,  323. 

Bushnell,  314. 

Cooper,  312. 

>edell,  314. 

Butler,  W.  A.,  352. 

Cooper,  Dr.,  336. 

ieecher,  Miss,  317. 

Byles,  Dr.,  343. 

Cooper,    J.    F.,   312,    328, 

•  ieecher,  H.  W.,  314. 

337- 

Jelknap,  323. 

Cox,  Cleveland  354. 

'sllamy,  314. 

C. 

Coxe,  314. 

'.enjamin,  355. 

Cranch,  358. 

lenton,  321. 

Caldwell,  Prof,  336. 

Croswell,  314. 

'othune,  321. 

Calhoun,  319. 

CroswelL  354. 

!iddle,  323. 

Calvert,  G.  H.,  335,  337. 

Curtis,  George  W.,  337. 

jigelow,  337. 
bmney,  Horace,  321. 

Campbell,  Mrs.,  356. 
Camther,  323. 

Cushir.g,  337. 
Cutler,  355. 

(370 

372        INDEX  TO  AMERICAN  LITERATURE. 


D. 

G. 

I. 

Dana,  Richard  H.,  333,  336, 

345- 

Gallagher,  353. 
Gal  latin,  A.,  336. 

Irving,  J.  T.,  323. 
Irving,  M.  P.,  323. 

Davidsons,  355.. 

Gayerre,  323. 

Irving,  W.,  312,  330. 

Davies,  314. 

Gibbs,  323. 

Davis,  323. 
Dawes,  355. 

Gillespie,  337. 
Gilman,  Mrs.,  317. 

J. 

Dawson,  Mrs.,  356. 

Godfrey,  T.,  343. 

Day,  Miss,  356. 
Dehon,  314. 

Godwin,  312. 
Goodrich,  333,  364. 

.  ackson,  333. 
.  acobs,  Miss,  336. 

Delano,  337. 

Gould,  Miss,  333. 

.  ames,  Henry,  334,  361. 

Dennie,  329. 

Gray,  Mrs.,  336. 

.  ames,  Miss,  356. 

Dewey:  314,  335- 
Dmnies,  Mrs.,  356. 

Green,  323. 
Green,  Mrs.,  336. 

.  arvis,  Dr.,  314. 
.  arvis,  J.  J.,  361. 

Doane,  355. 
Dodd,  Mrs.,  356. 
Downing,  A.  J.,  336. 
Drake,  323,  349. 

Greene,  A.  G.,  332. 
Greenwood,  314. 
Greenwood,  Grace,  317. 
Gregg,  337. 

.  ay,  318. 
.  eiferson,  319,  323. 
.  ewett,  337. 
.  ohnson,  312. 

Dunlap,  323. 

Griffin,  335. 

.  udd,  341. 

Duyckinck,  334. 

.  udson,  336. 

Dwight,    J.    S.,   312,   335, 
336. 

H. 

K. 

E. 

Hale,  314- 

Hale,  S.  J.,  Mrs.,  317. 

Kendall,  337. 

Eames,  Mrs.,  356. 

Hall,  James,  341. 

Kennedy,  J.  P.,  323,  341. 

Eastburn,  353. 
Edwards,  313. 

Hall,  Mrs.,  317. 
Halleck,  Fitz-Greene,  346. 

Kent,  321,  336. 
Key,  F.  S.,  333. 

Eliot,  Samuel,  326. 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  318. 

Kimball,  333. 

Ellery,  353. 

Hamilton,  Gail,  317. 

Kidder,  337. 

Ellett,  Mrs.,  317,  323. 
Elliot,  312. 

Hammond,  323. 
Hart,  J.  S.,  333- 

King,  337- 
Kmney,  Mrs.,  336. 

Embury,  Mrs.,  317. 
Emerson,  312,  334,  361. 

Hawks,  Dr.,  314. 
Hawthorne,  N.,  340,  341. 

Kip,  323,.  337. 
Kirkland,  Mrs.,  317. 

Esling,  Mrs.,  356. 
Everett,   A.  H.,  321,  333, 
336. 

Headley,  337. 
Hedge,  314,  335- 
Henry,  Patrick,  318. 

Knapp,  323. 
Knox,  314. 

Everett,  Edward,  321,  362. 

Henry,  Prof.,  336. 

Ii. 

Hewitt,  Mrs.,  333. 

Higginson,  361. 

Lanman,  337. 

F. 

Hildreth,  326. 

Larcom,  Miss.,  336. 

Hill,  353. 

Lawrence,  333. 

Fail-field,  333. 
Farrar,  Mrs.,  317. 

Hillard,  321. 
Hillhouse,  343. 

Lee,  Miss  E.,  336. 
Lee,  Miss  M.  E.,  356. 

Fay,  341. 

Hirst,  353. 

Lee,  Mrs.,  317,  323. 

Fay,  T.  S.,  336. 

Hitchcock,  S.,  363. 

Legare,  Hugh  S.,  320. 

Fields,  335. 

Hoffman,  312,  337,  330. 

Leggett,  355. 

Fisk,  337. 
Flint,  323. 

Holmes,  323. 
Holmes,  O.  W.,  312,  330. 

Leslie,  Miss,  317. 
Lewis  and  Clark,  336. 

Flint,  Timothy,  341. 

Honeywood,  343. 

Lewis,  Mrs.,  336. 

Follen,  Mrs.,  336. 
Forrester,  Fanny,  317. 

Hooker,  314. 
Hooper,  Lucy,  336. 

Little,  Mrs.,  336. 
Long,  337- 

Fox,  George,  314. 
Francis,  Dr.,  321,  364. 
Franklin,  312. 

Hopkins,  312,  314. 
Hopkinson,  Judge,  335. 
Hosmer,  353. 

Longfellow,  333,   337.  35< 
361. 
Lord,  333. 

Fremont,  337. 
Freneau,  P.  343. 

Howe,  Julia  W.,  317. 
Howell,  361. 

Lossing,  B.  J.,  326. 
Loud,  Mrs.,  356. 

Frisbie,  Prof.,  336,  352. 
Frothingham,  314,  323. 
Fuller,  S.  M.,  333. 
Fuller,  Miss,  356. 

Hoyt,  353. 
Hudson,  H.  N.,  314,  332. 
Humphreys,  343. 
Huntington,  353. 

Lowell,  J.  R.,  333,  332, 
Lowell,  Mrs.,  336. 
Lowell,  R.,  333. 
Lowell,  R.  S.,  364. 

Furnecs,  314. 

Hutchinson,  Anne,  314. 

Lyman,  337. 

INDEX  TO  AMERICAN  LITERATURE. 


Lynch,  337. 
Lynch,  Miss,  355. 

Osgood,  Mrs.,  355. 
Osgood,  S.,  314,  323- 
Otis,  318. 

Sargent,  Epes,  355. 
Sawyer,  Mrs.,  356. 
Saxe,  335,  361. 

Schoolcraft,  336. 

M. 

P. 

Sedgwick,  Cath.  M.,  317. 

Macey,  323. 
Mackenzie,  323,  337. 

Paine,  R.  T.,  344. 
Palfrey,  J.  G.,  336,  361. 

Sewell,  323. 
Scott,  Mrs.,  356. 
Shaler,  337. 

Mann,  Horace,  364. 
Marmette,  323. 
Marsh,  G.  P.,  364. 

Palmer,  352. 
Parker,  Theo.,  362. 
Parkman,  328,  337. 

Shelton,  314. 
Sherburne,  323^ 
Sigourney,  Lydia  H.,  317. 

Marshall,  323. 
Mather,  Increase  and  Cot- 

Parsons, Dr.,  335,  352. 
Parton,  323,  364. 

Silliman,  337. 
Simms,  W.    Gilmore,   323, 

ton,  312,  343. 
Matthews,  355. 
Matthews,  Cornelius,  335. 
May,  Caroline,  356. 

Pauldmg,  341. 
Payson,  314. 
Peabody,  314. 
Percival,  J.  G.,  347. 

341- 
Smith,  323. 
Smith,  "Mrs.  Emeline,  356. 
Smith,  Mrs.  E.  Oakes,  317. 

May,  Edith,  356. 
Mayer,  323. 

Phillips,  Miss,  356. 
Pickering,  336. 

Smith,  Seba,  355. 
Smith,  Mrs.  T.  P.,  356. 

May  hew,  312. 
Mayo,  342,  356. 
M'Connell,  341. 

Pickett,  323. 
Pierpont,  J.,  345. 
Pierson,  Mrs.,  356. 

Snelling,  355. 
Sparks,  323. 
Spencer,  314,  337. 

M'  Donald,  Mrs.,  356. 
Melntosh,  Miss,  317. 

Pike,  A.,  355. 
Pinckney,  318,  352. 

Sprague,  321,  323. 
Sprague,  Charles,  346. 

Meet:.,  355. 

Pindar,  Miss  S.,  356. 

Sproat,  Mrs.,  356. 

M  .,len,  355- 

Pinkney,  352. 

Squier,  337. 

'.ielville,  337. 

Pise,  363. 

Stephens,  323,  336. 

Middleton,  336. 

Poe,  E.  A.,  341. 

Stephens,  Mrs.,  356. 

Miller,  355. 

Potter,  314. 

Stetson,  314. 

Minor,  323. 

Prentiss,  321. 

Stiles,  312. 

Minot,  323. 
Mitchell,   Donald  G.,  337, 

Prescott,  Miss,  317. 
Prescott,  W.  H.,  326. 

Stith,  323. 
Stowe,  Mrs.,  317. 

360. 

Preston,  321. 

Stuart,  314. 

Mitchell,  Dr.,  335. 

Proud,  323. 

Story,  321,  361. 

Moore,  C.  C.,  355,  363. 

Street,  Alfred  B.,  353,  364 

Morris,  G.  P.,  355. 

Q, 

Steadman,  355. 

Morris,  Gouverneur,  318. 

St.  John,  Mrs.,  356. 

Morton,  323. 

Quincy,  323. 

Stoddard,  355. 

Motley,  364. 

Stone,  323. 

Moultrie,  323. 

B. 

Sullivan,  323. 

Mowatt,  Mrs.,  356. 

Sumner,  321. 

Mumford,  W.,  344- 
Murray,  314. 

Raguet,  336. 
Ralph,  341. 

Ramsay,  David,  324. 

T. 

Rand,  Ed.  S.,  364. 

B", 

Randolph,  321. 

Taggart,  Miss,  356. 

Raymond,  336. 

Tappan,  314. 

Neal,  John,  341. 
Neal,  J.  C,  335- 
Neal,  Mrs.  317,  336. 

Read,  355. 
Reed,  333. 
Ripley,  G.,  335- 

Taylor,  337. 
Taylor,  B.,  354,  361. 
Thacher,  355. 

Newell,  353. 

Robbms,  Eliza,  317. 

Thatcher,  323. 

Newman,  312. 

Robinson,  314,  337,  363. 

Thomas,  323,  341. 

Nichols,  Mrs.,  335,  356. 
Noble,  355. 

Rockwell,  355. 
Ruschenberger,  337. 

Thompson,  323. 
Thoreau,  365. 

Norman,  337. 

Rush,  Dr.,  336. 

Thorpe,  335. 

Norton,  A.,  333,  355- 

Rutledge,  318. 

Thurston,  Mrs.,  356. 

Nourse,  J.  D.,  336. 

Ticknor,  G.,  334. 

S. 

Todd,3i4.                     ! 
lownsend,  337. 

0. 

Trumbull,  323,  343. 

Sabine,  323. 

Tucker,  323,  336. 

O'Callahan,  323. 

Sands,  R.  C,  336. 

Tudor,  323.       -  - 

Oliver,  Mrs.,  356. 

Sanford,  355. 

Tyng,  314, 

874        INDEX  TO  AMERICAN  LITERATURE. 


IT. 

Ware,  Mrs.,  356. 

Willard,  Mrs.,  317. 

W?jz,  William,  341. 

Williams,  314. 

Upham,  323,  363. 

W*ren,  318. 

Williams,  323. 

Watson,  323. 

Williams,  Roger,  314,  343 

Wayland,  321,  334,  336. 

Willis,  N.,P.r335,3?o.343 

V. 

Webber,  337. 

Wilson,  336. 

Webster,  Daniel,  312,  320. 

Winslow,  336. 

Verplanck,  320. 

Webster,  Noah,  336. 

Winthrop,  321,  323. 

Very,  355. 

Welby,  Mrs.,  355. 

Winthrop,  Theo.,  365. 

Wells,  Mrs.,  356. 

Wirt,  Wm.,  320,  323,  336. 

Wetherell,  Miss,  317. 

Wise,  337. 

w. 

Wheaton,  323,  328. 

Witherspoon,  312. 

Wakefield,  Mrs.,  356. 

Whipple,  321. 
Whipple,  E.  P.,  333- 

Woodman,  Miss,  356. 
Woods,  314. 

Walker,  James,  334. 

White.  Bishop,  314,  323. 

Woodworth,  352. 

Wallace,  355- 

Whitefield,  314. 

Worthington,  Mrs.,  3561 

Wai  is,  337- 
Walsh,  R.  336. 

Whitman,  314. 
Whitman,  Mrs.,  355. 

Wynne,  323. 

Walter,  355. 

Whittier,  John  G.,  323,354. 

Ward,  ^55- 

Wilcox,  Carlos,  355. 

Y. 

Ward,  Mrs.,  356. 

Wilde,  R.  H.,  333. 

Ware,  Henry,  352. 

Wilkes,  337. 

Young,  323. 

.  x»  jju±i  UJN  Tjuuti  .LAST  JJAT.E 
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